Waynoka’s post office opened in 1889, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the Waynoka Sante Fe Depot and Harvey House, the Waynoka Telephone Exchange Building and the First Congregational Church. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1910.
Founded in what was then known as Indian Territory, Waynoka was established in 1887 when the Southern Kansas Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, built a rail line through the area. Shortly thereafter, on April 10, 1888, a post office was established, having the distinction of being the first to be established in the Cherokee Outlet. Its economy was based on the railroad and the large ranches in the area. When the Cherokee Outlet opened up for non-Indian settlement in the land run of September 16, 1893, Waynoka became the area's agricultural trade center.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waynoka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Waynoka West 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 Waynoka.
Every building
Waynoka, building by building, 1907–1911
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.
1907Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
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.
Retake this viewWaynoka, Oklahoma. Eroded land along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Wellington, Kansas and Waynoka…, 1943
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waynoka’s page.
The Waynoka post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Waynoka?
Three places: the Waynoka Sante Fe Depot and Harvey House (listed 1974), the Waynoka Telephone Exchange Building (2014) and the First Congregational Church (2017).
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 the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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