Chandler, Oklahoma

A four-block-wide tornado killed 19 and leveled the town. They rebuilt in sandstone.

You're driving through what used to be the Kickapoo lands, the site of Oklahoma's fifth and final land run! It all happened at noon on May 23rd, 1895. Ten thousand people showed up to claim their piece of the nearly…

Twin 1897 sandstone Mascho buildings on the National Register.

You're driving through Lincoln County, named for President Abraham Lincoln. This area was opened up by a massive land run on September 22, 1891, when twenty thousand people lined up for over six thousand homesteads. The…

68 years of frontier journalism (1891-1959). Digitized at Library of Congress.

Six gins and a cottonseed oil mill. Cotton was king through the 1920s.

Four courthouses have stood on this hilltop since 1891.

You're driving through Davenport, right on historic Route 66! This town owes its start to the Sac and Fox Opening back in 1891, when Noah and Annie Davenport staked a claim. Their daughter Nettie even became the first…

You're driving past Kendrick, Oklahoma, and right here is where a future governor, Roy Turner, was born in 1894. He started out near Kendrick, but ended up in Oklahoma City, served in World War I, and got into real…

You're driving through Lincoln County, just north of I-44. Right here is Kendrick, a town born from a railroad deal. In 1902, Guthrie businessmen bought the land, and by November, town lots were for sale. They even…

You're driving through Lincoln County, past the town of Sparks. This place started on land that was once part of the Sac and Fox Reservation. After the reservation dissolved in 1890, the land opened up in a run in 1891.…

You're driving through Lincoln County, passing Warwick. This town has a unique origin story. In 1903, the Monarch Investment Company established Warwick on land homesteaded by the High family. It grew into a bustling…

Pull over! You're approaching a slice of Route 66 history: The Rock Café, a survivor and a star! Built in 1936, and opening its doors in 1939, this restaurant is named for the sandstone that makes up its walls. The Rock…

Right here in Stroud, Oklahoma, you're driving past a town with a wild past! Back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1915</say-as>, Stroud was known as a notorious "whiskey town" – one of the last places liquor…

Right here in Oklahoma, you're passing through history made by Dora Steel Schexnider Young. Born into the Sac and Fox Nation, she made history on August 25, 1973, when she became the first woman ever elected chief of…

Right now, you're driving near Sac and Fox Nation headquarters, south of Stroud. You might know the Sac and Fox for their famous member, Jim Thorpe. But did you know in 1983, they created their own system for vehicle…

You're driving through Lincoln County, right near Stroud, where Moses Keokuk, a chief of the Sac and Fox tribe, lived and died. He wasn't just a tribal leader; he was also a Baptist minister who encouraged his people to…

You're driving through Lincoln County, and right here is Carney. Originally a camp called Cold Springs, this town got its name from Carney Staples, who helped survey the area back in 1871. After the land opening in…

You're driving north of Chandler on Highway 18, and right here is Agra. This town owes its existence to the railroad, specifically the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma line that connected Oklahoma City to Kansas back in…

You're driving through Wellston, Oklahoma, the birthplace of Francis Theodore Tuttle, a man known as 'Dr. Vo-Tech.' Born in 1920, Tuttle didn't just teach vocational education; he architected Oklahoma's entire system.…

You're driving through Lincoln County, and right here is Wellston, a town with roots stretching back to the 1880s. It all started with Christian T. Wells, who set up a trading post in the Kickapoo Reservation. The post…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the territory of a man known as the 'King of the Wildcatters,' Tom Slick. He started his oil career in Tryon back in 1904, a place that would…

You're driving through Lincoln County, and right here is Tryon, a town with a wild streak! Back in 1903, the Farmers and Merchants Bank opened its doors. It quickly became a legend for a different reason: robberies. In…

Right here near Meeker, Oklahoma, is where Carl Hubbell learned his signature pitch – the screwball. He grew up on a farm, one of five baseball-playing brothers, and honed that wicked pitch winning seventeen games for…

You're driving past Meeker, a town born from a railroad's detour. Right here, Clifton existed first, but when the Santa Fe Railway built its line, it zipped right past Clifton, two miles away. So, what did the folks in…

You're driving through Lincoln County, and right here is Fallis. It started as Mission, on the Iowa Reservation, but in 1894, it was renamed for its developer, Judge William H. Fallis. This place boomed as an…

Right here, you're driving past the area that was once Fallis, Oklahoma, a town named for William Fallis. But his daughter, Blanche Fallis Lucas, is the real story here. You might know Oklahoma women got the right to…

You're driving through Lincoln County, not far from Fallis, and you're passing the former home of Jennie Harris Oliver, Oklahoma's third Poet Laureate. Though not born here, Oliver found inspiration in the Oklahoma…

Right here near Prague, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of arguably the greatest athlete of the 20th century: Jim Thorpe. Born Wa-tho-huck, or "Bright Path," on May 28, 1888, Thorpe was a Sac and Fox…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through a piece of history tied to the Land Run. Anton Caha was one of the very first Czech immigrants to settle here. In 1889, he snuck into the…

You're driving through Prague, Oklahoma, a town with roots stretching back to the land run of September 22, 1891. But what makes this place unique? It was settled primarily by Czech immigrants, who named it after their…

You're driving through Creek County, right near Cushing, and you're passing through the heart of what was once the most important oil field in Oklahoma: the Cushing-Drumright Field. Discovered in January 1912 by Thomas…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through a piece of its nuclear history. Back in the 1950s, Kerr-McGee, a company known for oil, dove headfirst into the atomic age. They bought a refinery…

You're driving through Cushing, Oklahoma, a town that became the 'Pipeline Crossroads of the World.' While it started as a railroad stop and agricultural center, Cushing hit the big time in 1912 when wildcatter Thomas…

You're driving through Oklahoma's oil country, and right here, the McMan Oil Company made history. Founded in 1912 by Robert McFarlin and James Chapman, McMan hit it big almost immediately in the newly discovered…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and you might be passing a place that helped build the modern retail landscape! Right here, in 1918, Charles Ross Anthony partnered in his first business in Cleveland. Just four years…

You're driving through Depew, a town that owes its name to a New York senator. Founded in 1901 by Walter F. Malley, it was named for U.S. Senator Chauncey M. Depew. Initially a farming community, Depew really took off…

You're driving through Creek County, and right here is the town of Shamrock. It got its start in 1910, named by a guy who missed his hometown in Illinois. But Shamrock really hit its stride during the oil boom, becoming…