A history of Vian,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Vian from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗At the time of European contact, the area around what is now Vian was inhabited and controlled, but not settled, by the Osage, who used it as hunting ground. The name "Vian" is a corruption of viande, the French word for "meat"; French traders called Vian Creek "bayou viande", literally "meat bayou".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Vian’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewGrocery store near Vian, Oklahoma, 1939: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Vian
See all 6 →
Vian, decade by decade
LOCGrocery store near Vian, Oklahoma1939
LOCMigrant couple near Vian, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma1939
LOCMigrant agricultural workers camped near Vian, Oklahoma1939
LOCPrivy of tenant farmer near Vian, Oklahoma1939
LOCHome of Negro small farm owner near Vian, Oklahoma1939
LOCMules in barnyard of Negro farm owner near Vian, Oklahoma19391990s
Nothing in Vian is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Vian has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Tamaha Jail and Ferry Landing in Tamaha, 7.2 miles away.
Vian and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Grocery store near Vian, Oklahoma (1939) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.