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C+History
History · Wilson

Wilson’s post office opened in 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Wilson was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Healdton Oil Field Bunk House. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1920.

1888first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wilson began

When was Wilson founded?

1888

The Wilson post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hewitt (1889) and Dillard (1924), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,286 in 19202020 census: 1,399138 years

How historic is Wilson?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Wilson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilson is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. 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 Wilson’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.1% of homes (±2.4) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
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 Wilson’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.4 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 Wilson’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 Wilson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Wilson change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wilson, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilson’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
On the map

Wilson on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Wilson on the 1901 USGS mapWilson on the 1918 USGS mapWilson on the 1969 USGS mapWilson on the 1986 USGS map1901Ardmore sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wilson.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Wilson had its own post office from 1888 to 1907. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wilson
1888–1907
Hewitt
1889–1923
Wilson
1920–today
Dillard
1924–1955
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DillardHewitt
Gone or out of use
Cockwell Airportairport
1cemetery inside Wilson
Bomar Point

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

The story

How Wilson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilson.

Read it all →

John Ringling (of Ringling Brothers fame) in 1913 built his Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway west from Ardmore to the spot that would become Wilson. Ringling himself chose the name—originally “New Wilson”--- as a tribute to Charles Wilson, manager of the Ringling Brothers Circus. A post office was established on January 17, 1914; the town voted to incorporate the same year; and, the name changed to Wilson in 1918.

The murder of Jared Lakey in 2019 achieved national attention.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wilson, 1888 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Wilson post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Hewitt post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1907Post officeThe Wilson post office closes
  7. 1918Born hereThurmon Jones is born here
  8. 1920Born hereJohn D. Landers is born here
  9. 1920Post officeThe Wilson post office opens
  10. 1923Post officeThe Hewitt post office closes
  11. 1928Born hereJohn Moore is born here
By decade

Wilson, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Carl Albert with people from Wilson, Oklahoma, at the Wilson library2019Carl Albert with people from Wilson, Oklahoma, at the…OKMap-doton-Wilson2004OKMap-doton-Wilson
Every building

Wilson, building by building, 1920

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 sheet.

Wilson fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Wilson

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Healdton Oil Field Bunk House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Healdton Oil Field Bunk HouseBuilding · listed 1985

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

People over time

Wilson, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,517

Between 1,399 and 2,517 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Wilson

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

See all →
John D. LandersAmerican military officer · b. 1920
T
Thurmon JonesAmerican football player and coach · b. 1918
J
John MooreAmerican fashion designer · b. 1928

Questions about Wilson’s history

What year was Wilson founded?

The Wilson post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wilson rank for history?

Wilson is more historic than 36% 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 Wilson?

One place: the Healdton Oil Field Bunk House (listed 1985).

How old are the homes in Wilson?

6% of Wilson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.