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–Not graded
History · Sunray

Half of Sunray’s homes were built after 1977

Most of Sunray was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Sunray’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sunray are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sunray’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sunray’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Sunray, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sunray yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sunray (also known as Beckett) is a small unincorporated community in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. It is south of Duncan on U.S. Route 81. As of the 2020 census, Sunray had a population of 853. The community is adjacent to the old DX-Sunray refinery (TOSCO Corp. Duncan refinery) which closed in 1983 and was imploded in 2006.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Sunray

Nobody well known was born in Sunray itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
R
Ron HowardAmerican film director, producer, and actor · b. 1954
Van HeflinAmerican actor · b. 1908
Rue McClanahanAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1934
J
Jeane KirkpatrickAmerican diplomat and Presidential advisor · b. 1926
Leon RussellAmerican singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist … · b. 1942
N. Scott MomadayKiowa author and academic · b. 1934
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Empire CityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townComancheIts storyC−

Questions about Sunray’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.