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History · Sour John

Sour John’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Sour John. 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

Sour John is a census-designated place (CDP) in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 71 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 60 to 71 (+18%). Half of its homes were built before 1970.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sour John 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 Sour John’s collection

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

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

Sour John, 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 Sour John is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Sour John has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Cherokee National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, 13.1 miles away.

Sour John and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Sour John. Tap a dot.
Cherokee National CemeteryNash-Swindler HouseFort Gibson National CemeteryDragoon Commandant's QuartersSeawell-Ross-Isom HouseAdministration Building-Post Hospital

Closest to Sour John

Cherokee National CemeteryFort Gibson · Site13.1miNash-Swindler HouseFort Gibson · Built 187213.5miFort Gibson National CemeteryFort Gibson · Site13.6miDragoon Commandant's QuartersFort Gibson · Building13.8miSeawell-Ross-Isom HouseFort Gibson · Building14.2mi

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. Cherokee National Cemetery’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Sour John?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Sour John’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
📜 Paradise Hill📜 Braggs📜 Gore📜 Webbers Falls
We left the porch light on

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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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