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History · Kiowa

Kiowa’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

At the time of its founding, Kiowa was located in Jacksfork County, Choctaw Nation, in the Indian Territory. Its location is placed by some maps as in Tobucksy County, which included McAlester; the boundary was very near.

A post office was established at Kiowa, Indian Territory on May 6, 1881. It took its name from nearby Kiowa Hill.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Kiowa’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Kiowa

See all 4 →
Rip RadcliffRip RadcliffSportsWBWard H. BellSportsLLLois Wilson LanghorstWriting & ArtsRVRobert W. VaughanScience & Medicine
By decade

Kiowa, 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
Today1 photo
OKMap-doton-KiowaCommonsOKMap-doton-Kiowa2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Kiowa is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Kiowa has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Pittsburg School and Gymnasium in Pittsburg, 2.8 miles away.

Kiowa and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Kiowa. Tap a dot.
Pittsburg School and GymnasiumCapt. Charles LeFlore HouseBlackburn's Station SiteWaddell's Station SiteRock Creek BridgePerryville

Closest to Kiowa

Pittsburg School and GymnasiumPittsburg · Building2.8miCapt. Charles LeFlore HouseWardville · Building9.2miBlackburn's Station SiteBlanco · Site9.4miWaddell's Station SiteWardville · Site10.9miRock Creek BridgeBlanco · Built 193711mi

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. Pittsburg School and Gymnasium’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Kiowa?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Kiowa’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
📜 Pittsburg📜 Savanna📜 Ashland📜 McAlester

From Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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