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History · Wardville

Wardville’s post office opened in 1907

Most of Wardville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1896 on.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Wardville began

When was Wardville founded?

1907

The Wardville post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Herbert (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 53119 years
Founding year: the first Wardville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wardville’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 Wardville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18964 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1990. Watch Wardville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wardville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wardville’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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On the map

Wardville on the map, 1896 to 1990

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

Wardville on the 1896 USGS mapWardville on the 1900 USGS mapWardville on the 1967 USGS mapWardville on the 1990 USGS map1896Coalgate 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 Wardville.

The story so far

Wardville, in brief

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

Wardville is a small unincorporated community in northern Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States, along State Highway 131, 14 miles northeast of Coalgate. As of the 2020 census, Wardville had a population of 53. The post office was established February 6, 1902 under the name Herbert, Indian Territory. Herbert was located in Atoka County, Choctaw Nation, a territorial-era entity which included portions of today's Atoka, Coal, Hughes and Pittsburg counties. The town was named after Herbert Ward, who was the youngest son of the towns first postmaster, Henry Pleasant Ward. The name of the town was changed to Wardville on July 18, 1907. Wardville was named for the before mentioned Henry Pleasant.…

Its first post office opened in 1907.

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

Timeline

Wardville, 1896 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Herbert post office opens
  5. 1907Post officeThe Herbert post office closes
  6. 1907Post officeThe Wardville post office opens
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 Wardville

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

See all →
Reba McEntireAmerican country singer and actress · b. 1955
J
John BerrymanAmerican poet and scholar · b. 1914
Mary BlairAmerican artist · b. 1911
Micha HancockAmerican volleyball player · b. 1992
Carl AlbertAmerican politician · b. 1908
M
Michael WilsonAmerican screenwriter · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Wardville’s post office has been open since 1907. Another post office, Herbert, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Herbert
1902–1907
Wardville
1907–today
19001960today
1cemetery inside Wardville
Wardville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Wardville’s history

What year was Wardville founded?

The Wardville post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.