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History · Oakwood

Oakwood’s post office opened in 1872, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1913 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Oakwood began

When was Oakwood founded?

1872

The Oakwood post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 389154 years
Founding year: the first Oakwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Oakwood’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Oakwood’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewP.B. Oldham: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Oakwood, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oakwood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oakwood is a town in Leon and Freestone counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 389 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1872 as a stop on the International Railroad.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 510 to 389 (-24%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oakwood, 1872 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Oakwood post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913In the archiveP.B. Oldham
  5. 1914Born hereR. H. Bing is born here
  6. 1944Born hereGuy Manning is born here
By decade

Oakwood, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
P.B. Oldham1913P.B. Oldham
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Oakwood Texas City Hall 20192019Oakwood Texas City Hall 2019U.S. Post Office, Oakwood, TX IMG 30272011U.S. Post Office, Oakwood, TX IMG 3027Oakwood, TX, sign IMG 30262011Oakwood, TX, sign IMG 3026First Christian Church, Oakwood, TX IMG 30282011First Christian Church, Oakwood, TX IMG 3028TXMap-doton-Oakwood2004TXMap-doton-Oakwood
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.

P.B. Oldham
Retake this viewP.B. Oldham, 1913

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Oakwood

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

See all →
R
R. H. BingAmerican mathematician · b. 1914
G
Guy ManningAmerican basketball player · b. 1944

Questions about Oakwood’s history

What year was Oakwood founded?

The Oakwood post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.