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History · Bell

Bell’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Bell. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Bell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bell had a population of 191.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 535 to 191 (-64%). Half of its homes were built before 1975.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bell yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Bell’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from BellWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Bell.Meet them →
By decade

Bell, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Bell is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bell has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is KCS Railway Depot in Stilwell, 6.7 miles away.

Bell and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Bell. Tap a dot.
KCS Railway DepotAdair County CourthouseEvansville-Dutch Mills Road BridgeWing SchoolLeach, R.L., Grocery StoreBethlehem Cemetery

Closest to Bell

KCS Railway DepotStilwell · Built 19156.7miAdair County CourthouseStilwell · Built 19296.8miEvansville-Dutch Mills Road BridgeMorrow · Structure10.1miWing SchoolCedarville · Building10.5miLeach, R.L., Grocery StoreMorrow · Built 192511mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. KCS Railway Depot’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bell?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bell’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Stilwell📜 Cedarville📜 Marble City📜 Lincoln
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Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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