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History · Washington

Washington’s post office opened in 1904

Most of Washington was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1920.

1904first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Washington began

When was Washington founded?

1904

The Washington post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 336 in 19202020 census: 673122 years
Founding year: the first Washington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Washington’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 Washington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1980 and 1990, then more than doubled.On the map since 18934 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1975. Watch Washington change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Washington, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020477 in 1980Low: 279

Lost a third of its people between 1980 and 1990, then more than doubled.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Washington on the map, 1893 to 1975

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

Washington on the 1893 USGS mapWashington on the 1936 USGS mapWashington on the 1965 USGS mapWashington on the 1975 USGS map1893Norman 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 Washington.

The story

How Washington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washington.

Read it all →

While some sources list the town as having been named after George Washington, first president of the United States, the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture relates a "popular local story" that the name was actually chosen to honor Caddo chief "Little Boy" George Washington, who had lived nearby.

A post office called Washington has been in operation since 1904. The post office charter was granted May 10, 1904.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Washington, 1893 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Post officeThe Washington post office opens
  5. 1928Born hereJoe Bradley is born here
  6. 1933Born hereLometa Odom is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 673
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

2 famous people were born in Washington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joe BradleyAmerican basketball player · b. 1928
L
Lometa OdomAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1933

Questions about Washington’s history

What year was Washington founded?

The Washington post office opened in 1904, 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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.