Oklahoma’s digitized county histories are a bit of a sad state of affairs, mostly because Oklahoma didn’t become a state until after the heyday of writing county histories. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any – there are some that aren’t under copyright restrictions.

Be sure to check the state list, especially the first item Muskogee and northwestern Oklahoma (includes 13 county histories), as there are some counties with no histories after their names, but do have histories published in the state selections.

Most of the books in today’s list – probably 95% of them – are on FamilySearch, so log into your account before starting your research.

Don’t despair, though – check libraries for hard copies of county histories. There are actually quite a few written in the 20th century.

FAQ

1. While every county in the state is listed, links are only provided for titles that no longer fall under U.S. copyright laws. All (almost) links connect to free websites.
2. There are a few instances when a book has been digitized, but is only found on a paid site. In that case, no link is inserted, but a note as to the website where it has been found is given.
3. When a state history has also been found in digital format, it is listed in the STATE section that precedes the county list. I have limited STATE entries to those with county histories/biographical volumes in them.
4. There are a number of counties that DO have histories written, BUT they remain copyrighted material. Therefore, if a county has NONE after its name, it doesn’t mean there is no county history, just that none has been digitized. It’s also possible that the only digitized county history is included in one of the state volumes, so be sure to check those entries.
5. If the book is on FamilySearch, you will need a free account to access it. This list does NOT include town histories.
6. When all fifty states have been completed, I will post a PDF of them all.
7. One last note – it is very possible that a book is digitally available on more than one website. I’ve only included links to one site per book.

OKLAHOMA

 STATE – Muskogee and northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa, Volume 1, John Downing Benedict, Clark Publishing, Chicago, Illinois, 1922.
STATE – Muskogee and northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa, Volume 2, John Downing Benedict, Clark Publishing, Chicago, Illinois, 1922.
STATE – Muskogee and northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa, Volume 3, John Downing Benedict, Clark Publishing, Chicago, Illinois, 1922.
STATE – 1910 township maps of southwest Oklahoma, Jewell Rone Tankersley, Lawton, Oklahoma, c1985.
STATE – The encyclopedia of the new West: containing fully authenticated information of the agricultural, mercantile, commercial, manufacturing, mining and grazing industries, and representing the character, development, resources and present condition of Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Indian Territory: also, biographical sketches of their representative men and women, William S. Speer & John Henry Brown, United States Biographical Publishing Company, Marshall, Texas, 1881.
STATE – The formation of the state of Oklahoma (1803-1906), Roy Gittinger, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 1917.
STATE – A history of the state of Oklahoma, with the assistance of local authorities, Volume 1, Luther B. Hill & Edwin C. McReynolds, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1908.
STATE – A history of the state of Oklahoma, with the assistance of local authorities, Volume 2, Luther B. Hill & Edwin C. McReynolds, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1908.
STATE – Oklahoma: the semicentennial of statehood, 1907-1957, Library of Congress, Washingotn, DC, 1957.
STATE – Oklahoma history, south of the Canadian, historical and biographical, Volume 1, Roy M. Johnson, John P. Gilday & Mark H. Salt, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1925.
STATE – Oklahoma history, south of the Canadian, historical and biographical, Volume 2, Roy M. Johnson, John P. Gilday & Mark H. Salt, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1925.
STATE – Oklahoma history, south of the Canadian, historical and biographical, Volume 3, Roy M. Johnson, John P. Gilday & Mark H. Salt, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, 1925.
STATE – The History of Northwest Oklahoma, Curtis Media, Dallas, Texas, c1994.
STATE – Oklahoma, a history of the state and its people, Volume 1, Joseph Bradfield Thoburn & Muriel Hazel Wright, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1929.
STATE – Oklahoma, a history of the state and its people, Volume 2, Joseph Bradfield Thoburn & Muriel Hazel Wright, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1929.
STATE – Oklahoma, a history of the state and its people, Volume 3, Joseph Bradfield Thoburn & Muriel Hazel Wright, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1929.
STATE – Oklahoma, a history of the state and its people, Volume 4, Joseph Bradfield Thoburn & Muriel Hazel Wright, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1929.
STATE – Portrait and biographical record of Oklahoma: commemorating the achievements of citizens who have contributed to the progress of Oklahoma and the development of its resources, Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1901.

ADAIR – NONE
ALFALFA – NONE
ATOKA – NONE
BEAVER – NONE
BECKHAM – NONE
BLAINE – They carried the torch; the story of Oklahoma’s pioneer newspapers, Elva Shartel Ferguson, Burton Publishing Company, Kansas City, Missouri, 1937.
BRYAN – NONE
CADDO – A history of Caddo County, Polly Lewis Murphy, Histree, Lawton, Oklahoma, 1980.
CANADIAN – NONE
CARTER – NONE
CHEROKEE – NONE
CHOCTAW – NONE
CIMMARON – They wandered here, Norma Gene Butterbaugh Young, n.p., n.d. [FamilySearch Film 2,209,780, Item 2]
CIMARRON – The tracks we followed, Norma Gene Butterbaugh Young, n.p., n.d. [FamilySearch Film 2,209,780, Item 1]
CLEVELAND – NONE
COAL – NONE
COMANCHE – Lawton: golden anniversary, 1901-1951: 50 years of progress, Lawton, Oklahoma, c1951.
COTTON – NONE
CRAIG – NONE
CREEK – NONE
CUSTER – History of Custer and Washita counties, Oklahoma, 1883-1937: dedicated to the pioneers, presenting the history of Custer and Washita counties, Oklahoma since the arrival of John Deger, Clinton Daily News, Clinton, Oklahoma, c1937. [FamilySearch Film 496732, Item 3]
DELAWARE – NONE
DEWEY – NONE
ELLIS – NONE
GARFIELD – Souvenir supplemental edition of the Enid Eagle, Cromwell, Enid, Oklahoma, 1967.
GARVIN – From bluestem to golden trend: a pictorial history of Garvin County, covering both the old and new, Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce, University Supply and Equipment Company, Fort Worth, 1957.
GRADY – NONE
GRANT – NONE
GREER – Title of Greer County investigated, John Milton Swisher, Elisha Marshall Pease & William Martin Walton, Austin, Texas, 1883.
HARMON – NONE
HARPER – NONE
HASKELL – NONE
HUGHES – NONE
JACKSON – NONE
JEFFERSON – NONE
JOHNSTON – NONE
KAY – Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County Gas Company, Ponca City, Oklahoma, 1919.
KAY – The last run, Kay County, Oklahoma, 1893, Ponca City Chapter, DAR, Courier Print Company, Ponca City, Oklahoma, 1939.
KAY – Newkirk and Kay County diamond jubilee, Newkirk, Oklahoma, 1968.
KAY – Souvenir of Ponca City, Board of Trade, Ponca City, Oklahoma, 1906 [FamilySearch Film 2,048,208, Item 1]
KINGFISHER – Official souvenir programme, diamond anniversary of the run of ’89, April 22, 1889-April 22, 1964, Greater Hennessey, Inc., Hennessey, Oklahoma, 1964. [FamilySearch Film 1,000,357, Item 2]|
KIOWA – NONE
LATIMER – The Edwards Store: or, Old Red Oak, I.C. Gunning, Eastern Oklahoma Historical Society, c1965.
LE FLORE – NONE
LINCOLN – NONE
LOGAN – NONE
LOVE – NONE
MAJOR – NONE
MARSHALL – NONE
MAYES – NONE
MCCLAIN – NONE
MCCURTAIN – McCurtain County and southeast Oklahoma : history, biography, statistics, a complete church, lodge, school, professional, business and trade directory of the county, W.A. Carter, Tribune Publishing Company, Idabel, Oklahoa, 1923.
MCINTOSH – NONE
MURRAY – NONE
MUSKOGEE – Turning back the clock, C.W. West & Matt West, Muskogee Publishing, Muskogee, Oklahoma, c1993.
NOBLE – A history of Noble County, Oklahoma, Fannie L. Eisele, Covington, Oklahoma, c1958.
NOWATA – History of Nowata County, Felix M. Gay, Redlands Press, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 1957.
OKFUSKEE – NONE
OKLAHOMA – An early history of Capitol Hill, Capitol Hill Beacon, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1965.
OKMULGEE – NONE
OSAGE – NONE
OTTAWA – NONE
PAWNEE – NONE
PAYNE – NONE
PITTSBURG – NONE
PONTOTOC – NONE
POTTAWATOMIE – Pott County and what has become of it: a history of Pottawatomie County, John Fortson, Pottawatomie County Historical Society, 1936.
PUSHMATAHA – NONE
ROGER MILLS – A brief history of Roger Mills County, Nat Massey Taylor, n.d.
ROGERS – Rogers County yesterday and today, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, 1968.
SEMINOLE – NONE
SEQUOYAH – NONE
STEPHENS – NONE
TEXAS – NONE
TILLMAN – NONE
TULSA – The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with a personality: together with a glimpse down the corridors of the past into old Indian territory, the five civilized tribes, the Creek nation, Tulsa recording district and Tulsa County, how Oklahoma was created and something of the builders of a commonwealth, Volume 1, Clarence Brown Douglas, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1921.
TULSA – The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with a personality: together with a glimpse down the corridors of the past into old Indian territory, the five civilized tribes, the Creek nation, Tulsa recording district and Tulsa County, how Oklahoma was created and something of the builders of a commonwealth, Volume 2, Clarence Brown Douglas, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1921.
TULSA – The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with a personality: together with a glimpse down the corridors of the past into old Indian territory, the five civilized tribes, the Creek nation, Tulsa recording district and Tulsa County, how Oklahoma was created and something of the builders of a commonwealth, Volume 3, Clarence Brown Douglas, S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1921.
WAGONER – Wagoner, 1923-1950: a look backward, Phil Harris, Oklahoma Print Company, Muskogee, Oklahoma, 1977.
WAGONER – Yonkers, Oklahoma: recalling the good old days; a book of memories, Liz McMahan, Wagoner Newspapers, Oklahoma, 1987.
WASHINGTON – NONE
WASHITA – History of Custer and Washita counties, Oklahoma, 1883-1937: dedicated to the pioneers, presenting the history of Custer and Washita counties, Oklahoma since the arrival of John Deger, Clinton Daily News, Clinton, Oklahoma, c1937. [FamilySearch Film 496732, Item 3]
WOODS – NONE
WOODWARD – Woodward County pioneer families before 1915, Plains Indians and Pioneer Historical Foundation, Woodward, Oklahoma, c1975.