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C+History
History · Oakley

Oakley dates to 1868, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

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

Most of Oakley was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listing is the O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1900.

1868founded
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Oakley began

When was Oakley founded?

1868

Oakley dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 335 in 19002020 census: 1,588158 years

How historic is Oakley?

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: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oakley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakley 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 Oakley’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.7% of homes (±4.3) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 6.1 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oakley’s 6.1 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Utah 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1868.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Oakley’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 Oakley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1930 and 1960, then grew 6-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oakley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakley’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
People over time

Oakley, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020371 in 1930Low: 247

Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1960, then grew 6-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Oakley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oakley.

Read it all →

The valley was inhabited by Ute Indians before the coming of Mormon pioneers. A historical monument erected in 1939 across the street from the current town hall by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, honors the habitation of the Utes. "INDIAN TRAIL This valley, settled by Thomas Rhoades in 1858, was a summer paradise for Indians who came to hunt, fish and gather wild fruit and sego bulbs. The Weber River Indian Trail skirted the east foothills to Oakley Canyon, crossed the river at the Old Kamas Ford, 3 1/2 miles east of here, running thence to Henry's Fork, and to Brush Creek, in the eastern Uinta Mountains. This trail was used by Indians, Scouts and Pioneers, and is marked in part by roads today."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oakley, 1868 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingOakley is established
  3. 1887Post officeThe Oakley post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923Born hereTally Stevens is born here
  6. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,588
By decade

Oakley, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Summit County, Utah - Oakley, Kamas, and Francis2021Summit County, Utah - Oakley, Kamas, and FrancisRoad Island Diner2015Road Island DinerOakley Utah Town Hall2011Oakley Utah Town Hall
On the map

Oakley on the map, 1967 to 1998

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

Oakley on the 1967 USGS mapOakley on the 1998 USGS map1967Kamas 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 Oakley.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Oakley

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
2009
O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107
O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Streamlined Moderne1
Art Deco1
Stainless Steel Diner1
Prefabricated Mobile Dining Car1
O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107Streamlined Moderne

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

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Oakley’s post office has been open since 1887.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakley
North BenchOakleyStevens

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

Questions about Oakley’s history

What year was Oakley founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Oakley’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1900 counted 335 people here.

How does Oakley rank for history?

Oakley 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 Oakley?

One place: the O'Mahony Dining Car No. 1107 (listed 2009).

How old are the homes in Oakley?

6% of Oakley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1996.

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 (3), 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) 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.