Weatherford’s post office opened in 1893, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #81 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Science Building, the Weatherford Armory and the Owl Blacksmith Shop. Most of Weatherford was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Weatherford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Weatherford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weatherford is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #81 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Weatherford’s overall grade.
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 Weatherford’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Weatherford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Situated on land made available to homesteaders as part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Roundup and Removal on April 19, 1892, Weatherford was incorporated on August 3, 1898, on a townsite location chosen by banking and civic leader Beeks Erick. By 1900, the town's population was 1,017. The town's original post office was located approximately two miles north of town, on William John and Lorinda Powell Weatherford's homestead. Lorinda Weatherford served as its postmaster and namesake. In its early years, farming and ranching provided the major economic base, with corn, cotton, and maize the major crops. Additionally, a brick plant, a cement plant, and a broom factory provided jobs as well as supplies for early residents.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Weatherford, census by census
Grew from 1,017 people in 1900 to 12,076 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Weatherford’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Weatherford’s history
What year was Weatherford founded?
The Weatherford post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Weatherford rank for history?
Weatherford is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #81 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 Weatherford?
Three places: the Science Building (listed 1984), the Weatherford Armory (1994) and the Owl Blacksmith Shop (1983).
How old are the homes in Weatherford?
3% of Weatherford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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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