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BHistory
History · Watonga

Watonga’s post office opened in 1892, and 7 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #46 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Watonga was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
7on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Watonga’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Watonga began

When was Watonga founded?

1892

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

First census: 842 in 19102020 census: 2,690134 years

How historic is Watonga?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Watonga post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Watonga’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Watonga is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #46 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Watonga’s overall grade.
Founding era1892, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.2% of homes (±4.5) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register7 listings, 26.7 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 65%

Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Watonga’s 26.7 sits above most of its state (82% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Watonga’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,111 in 2010; 2,690 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1901 to 1914, drew every building in Watonga.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Watonga’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWatonga, Okla., High School: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Watonga, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,111

Peaked at 5,111 in 2010; 2,690 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Every building

Watonga, building by building, 1901–1914

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 year, then a sheet.

Watonga fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 21901Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Watonga came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Watonga.

Read it all →

Watonga is located on former Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation lands that were allotted to individual tribal members, and the excess opened to white settlers in the Land Run of 1892. Watonga is named after Arapaho Chief Wo'teenko'oh, whose name means "Black Coyote".

The town began as a tent city on April 19, 1892. A post office opened in Watonga during the same year. However, the first railroad line through Watonga was not built until 1901–02, when the Enid and Anadarko Railway (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) constructed a 60 miles (97 km) rail line from Guthrie.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Watonga, 1892 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Watonga post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903BuiltJ. H. Wagner House is built
  5. 1904Born hereClarence Nash is born here
  6. 1906Born hereRobert J. Helberg is born here
  7. 1911In the archiveWatonga, Okla., High School
  8. 1930In the archiveStar Court, Watonga, Okla (85515)
  9. 1948Born hereLoren C. Ball is born here
  10. 1969Born hereByron Houston is born here
  11. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 21st century
  13. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 5,111
By decade

Watonga, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s3 items
Watonga, Okla., High School1911Watonga, Okla., High SchoolWatonga C.H. [Court House], Blaine Co., Okla1911Watonga C.H. [Court House], Blaine Co., OklaStar Court, Watonga, Okla (85515)c. 1930Star Court, Watonga, Okla (85515)
1940s–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
Today8 recent
United States Post Office2017United States Post OfficeThompson Benton Ferguson House ne corner2017Thompson Benton Ferguson House ne cornerNoble Hotel2017Noble HotelJ.H. Wagner House2017J.H. Wagner HouseBlaine County Courthouse2017Blaine County CourthouseUntitled photo2015Untitled photoDiamonds Restaurant Watonga Oklahoma 5-26-20082008Diamonds Restaurant Watonga Oklahoma 5-26-2008Untitled photo2006Untitled photo
On the map

Watonga on the map, 1972 to 1985

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

Watonga on the 1972 USGS mapWatonga on the 1985 USGS map1972Watonga 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 Watonga.

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.

Watonga, Okla., High School
Retake this viewWatonga, Okla., High School, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 historic places in Watonga

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Thompson Benton Ferguson House
Thompson Benton Ferguson HouseJ. H. Wagner House, built 1903Blaine County CourthouseWatonga ArmoryNoble HotelUnited States Post Office WatongaCronkhite Ranch House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Queen Anne1
Works Progress Administration1
Commercial Style1
Colonial Revival1
Thompson Benton Ferguson HouseBuilding
J. H. Wagner HouseVictorian Queen Anne · Built 1903
Blaine County CourthouseBuilding
Watonga ArmoryWorks Progress Administration
Noble HotelCommercial Style
United States Post Office WatongaColonial Revival
All 7 listings
Cronkhite Ranch HouseBuilding · listed 1983

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Watonga

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

See all →
Clarence NashAmerican voice actor · b. 1904
B
Byron HoustonAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
L
Loren C. BallAmerican astronomer · b. 1948
R
Robert J. HelbergAmerican engineer · b. 1906
G
Guy LookabaughAmerican football and basketball coach, wrestle… · b. 1896
J
Jim LookabaughAmerican football player and coach · b. 1902

Questions about Watonga’s history

What year was Watonga founded?

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

How does Watonga rank for history?

Watonga is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #46 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Watonga?

7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Thompson Benton Ferguson House (listed 1973, the first).

How old are the homes in Watonga?

9% of Watonga’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1967.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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), 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.