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History · Verden

Verden’s post office opened in 1899, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1910.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Verden began

When was Verden founded?

1899

The Verden post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902.

First census: 524 in 19102020 census: 508127 years
Founding year: the first Verden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓

What stands out about Verden’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 Verden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Verden’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 viewDairy Ice Cream sign: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Verden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Verden.

Read it all →

A rural community called "Cottonwood Grove" (Kiowa: Á:kàulèñ) began to emerge near the present site of Verden before the Civil War. It was on the eastern edge of the Kiowa and Comanche reservation that was established by the Medicine Lodge Treaty, that was made with the U.S. government in 1867. A stage stop was established at Cottonwood Grove for travelers en route from Boggy Depot to the Kiowa Agency, Fort Sill, and Fort Cobb. The land around the community, outside the reservation, belonged to the Half Moon Ranch, owned by W. G. "Caddo" Williams. His son-in-law, Charles Campbell, owner of the 7BC Ranch, and E. B. Johnson bought the Half Moon around 1900.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Verden, 1899 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Verden post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1979In the archiveDairy Ice Cream sign
By decade

Verden, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Dairy Ice Cream sign1979Dairy Ice Cream sign
1980s–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
Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Verden2004OKMap-doton-Verden
On the map

Verden on the map, 1945 to 1986

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

Verden on the 1945 USGS mapVerden on the 1968 USGS mapVerden on the 1986 USGS map1945Anadarko sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Verden, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Verden fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 1
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.

Dairy Ice Cream sign
Retake this viewDairy Ice Cream sign, 1979

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Verden, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 659

Between 405 and 659 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Verden

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

See all →
Lee PaceAmerican actor · b. 1979
J
Jim ThompsonAmerican writer · b. 1906
Don McNeillUS tennis player · b. 1918
Cleavon LittleAmerican actor · b. 1939
Kendra HornU.S. representative from Oklahoma · b. 1976
M
Merle KilgoreAmerican musician · b. 1934

Questions about Verden’s history

What year was Verden founded?

The Verden post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.

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 (2), 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.