[4] The town was founded in 1883[5] by a group of white settlers who had arrived in Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory in 1882 from Gainesville, Texas, led by Confederate Army veteran Doctor John Trigg Gilmore, his wife, Elizabeth Louise Oliveaux, their children, and relatives William and George McCall, with their respective families.

They first settled in Cold Springs, northwest of the present town site, where other settlers soon joined them.

The town was named after the son of deputy United States marshal William McCall.

[6] Allen, Oklahoma is the modern-day site of the Battle of Middle Boggy during the American Civil War.

In 1892, Dr. Gilmore became Allen's first postmaster and founded the town's first Masonic Lodge two years later.

The Missouri, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railway built a line through the area in 1909, although it bypassed Allen, by a half-mile.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square mile (2.4 km2), all land.