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History · Tatums

Tatums’ post office opened in 1896, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Tatums was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listing is the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1970.

1896first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tatums’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tatums began

When was Tatums founded?

1896

The Tatums post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 133 in 19702020 census: 111130 years
Founding year: the first Tatums post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Tatums’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Tatums change.Boom and bustPeaked at 281 in 1980; 111 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tatums’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tatums’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 viewBethel Missionary Baptist: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Tatums on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Tatums on the 1901 USGS mapTatums on the 1969 USGS mapTatums on the 1986 USGS map1901Ardmore sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Tatums, census by census

0100200300198020002020Peak: 281

Peaked at 281 in 1980; 111 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story

How Tatums came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tatums.

Read it all →

According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Tatums was founded in Indian Territory in 1895 by Lee and Mary Tatum, though Oklahoma Place Names states that the town was not incorporated until May 9, 1896, And a hotel was built in 1899, a blacksmith shop in 1900, a cotton gin and sawmill in 1910, and a motor garage in 1918. Oil wells were drilled in the area in the 1920s, bringing wealth to several of Tatumses farmers and landowners.

At the time of its founding, Tatums was located in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tatums, 1896 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Tatums post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1919BuiltBethel Missionary Baptist Church is built
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 281
  7. 1995In the archiveBethel Missionary Baptist
By decade

Tatums, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s2 items
Bethel Missionary Baptist1995Bethel Missionary BaptistBethelMissionaryChurchTatum1995BethelMissionaryChurchTatum
Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Tatums2004OKMap-doton-Tatums
On the National Register

1 historic place in Tatums

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, built 1919
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gable End Church1
Bethel Missionary Baptist ChurchGable End Church · Built 1919

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

Questions about Tatums’ history

What year was Tatums founded?

The Tatums post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Tatums?

One place: the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church (listed 1995).

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