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BHistory
History · Wilburton

Wilburton’s post office opened in 1891, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1903 on.

1891first post office
6on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wilburton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wilburton began

When was Wilburton founded?

1891

The Wilburton post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lutie (1901), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 2,285135 years

How historic is Wilburton?

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 Wilburton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wilburton’s History grade

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

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wilburton’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±3.5) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register6 listings, 23.1 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 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 Wilburton’s 23.1 sits above most of its state (79% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±3.5 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 Wilburton’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.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilburton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewLatimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (8…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

6 historic places in Wilburton

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Riddle's Station Site
Rosenstein Building, built 1905Mitchell HallSacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory, built 1912Great Western Coal and Coke Company BuildingGreat Western Coal and Coke Company Mine No. 3
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Early 20th Century Commercial1
Riddle's Station SiteSite
Rosenstein BuildingEarly 20th Century Commercial · Built 1905
Mitchell HallBuilding
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and RectoryBuilt 1912
All 6 listings
Great Western Coal and Coke Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1980Great Western Coal and Coke Company Mine No. 3Site · listed 1980

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

The story

How Wilburton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilburton.

Read it all →

The community now known as Wilburton was originally established as a group of settlers living around Riddle's Station, a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach along the trail from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Fort Worth, Texas. Riddle's Station was built in 1858 and the Overland Stage operated from 1857 to 1861. According to the Oklahoma Encyclopedia of History and Culture, it was likely named for Will Burton, a contractor and surveyor who was involved in platting the townsite and building the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company line from Wister to McAlester. According to Oklahoma Place Names, it was named after Elisha Wilbur, who was the president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The post office was established at Wilburton, Indian Territory in 1891. At the time of its founding, the community was located in Sans Bois County, a part of the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wilburton, 1891 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Wilburton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Lutie post office opens
  5. 1903In the archiveChoctaw Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Map Showing Definite Location of Spurs to Coal Mines S…
  6. 1905BuiltRosenstein Building is built
  7. 1912BuiltSacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory is built
  8. 1923Born herePat Seerey is born here
  9. 1930In the archiveLatimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (89186)
  10. 1937Born hereDuane Wood is born here
  11. 1942Post officeThe Lutie post office closes
  12. 1984Born hereTim Means is born here
By decade

Wilburton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s2 items
Choctaw Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Map Showing Definite Location of Spurs to Coal Mines South and East of Wilburton, I.T1903Choctaw Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Map Showing Defini…MapLatimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (89186)c. 1930Latimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (89186)
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
Date unknown1 to date
Loading coal in the strip pits, Wilburton, Indian Terr. [Oklahoma], ca. 1898Date?Loading coal in the strip pits, Wilburton, Indian Ter…
Today2 recent
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory2015Sacred Heart Catholic Church and RectoryRosenstein Building2015Rosenstein Building
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.

Latimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (89186)
Retake this viewLatimer Theatre, Wilburton, Oklahoma (89186), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Wilburton

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

See all →
T
Tim MeansMixed martial artist · b. 1984
D
Duane WoodAmerican football player · b. 1937
Pat SeereyAmerican baseball player · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wilburton’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Lutie, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wilburton
1891–today
Lutie
1901–1942
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lutie
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wilburton
MasonicWilburton

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

Questions about Wilburton’s history

What year was Wilburton founded?

The Wilburton post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wilburton rank for history?

Wilburton is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Wilburton?

6 listings: 4 buildings and 2 sites.

How old are the homes in Wilburton?

10% of Wilburton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.