Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Taloga

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Taloga

Taloga’s post office opened in 1892, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Dewey County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Taloga’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Taloga began

When was Taloga founded?

1892

The Taloga post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 468 in 19102020 census: 288134 years
Founding year: the first Taloga post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Taloga’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Taloga’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHunting Horse and daughters: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Taloga came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Taloga.

Read it all →

According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, the name is of Indian origin and means either "beautiful valley" or "rocking water".

The Taloga Wind project outside of town, dedicated in March 2012, can generate up to 130 megawatts of power, which is enough to meet the needs of about 35,000 homes. All electricity produced by the project is provided to Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The Dewey County Courthouse, from 1925, is on the NHRP listings.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Taloga, 1892 to 1972

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Taloga post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveHunting Horse and daughters
  5. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Taloga, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Hunting Horse and daughters1908Hunting Horse and daughters
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
DeweyCountyCourthouse1105212011DeweyCountyCourthouse110521Wasserturm von2010Wasserturm vonOKMap-doton-Taloga2004OKMap-doton-Taloga
On the map

Taloga on the map, 1972 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Taloga. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Taloga on the 1972 USGS mapTaloga on the 1986 USGS map1972Taloga sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Taloga.

Every building

Taloga, building by building, 1907–1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Taloga fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hunting Horse and daughters
Retake this viewHunting Horse and daughters, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Taloga’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Taloga

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Dewey County Courthouse
Dewey County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
All 1 listings
Dewey County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Taloga, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 533

Between 288 and 533 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Taloga’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Taloga

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

See all →
Clarence NashAmerican voice actor · b. 1904
Troy RuttmanAmerican racing driver · b. 1930
Darla HoodAmerican actress · b. 1931
B
Byron HoustonAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
L
Loren C. BallAmerican astronomer · b. 1948
Johnny MarvinAmerican ukulele musician · b. 1897

Questions about Taloga’s history

What year was Taloga founded?

The Taloga post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Taloga?

One place: the Dewey County Courthouse (listed 1985).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.