Greer County is in far southwest Oklahoma. It originally belonged to Texas after they stole it from the United States. After several years of legal battles the disputed land wound up in the U.S. Supreme court and it ruled in March 1896 the 1.5 million acre area did not belong to Texas but to the U.S. Two months later in May 1896 the U.S. would transfer what is known as Greer County today over to Oklahoma Territory.
The county seat of Greer County is Mangum, Oklahoma. We were in Mangum last summer picking up about 125 quality bricks for future sandblasting jobs. The Mangum Brick Company has been in business for over 100 years in Mangum.
When Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state (November 16, 1907), old "Greer County" was divided into Greer, Jackson, and part of Beckham counties. Harmon County was created May 22, 1909 by a vote of the people from a portion of Greer County, Oklahoma.
I learned this week the that 3rd floor of the Greer County courthouse in Mangum has been closed for some time due to bats taking over that floor. In the elevator there is a cover over the 3rd floor button with a tiny pin hole in it. That hole is used by maintenance workers and anyone researching courthouse records kept on that floor. A paper clip is pushed through the pinhole to depress the elevator button so it will go to the 3rd floor.
Mangum has been the county seat since 1886, when Greer County was situated in Texas. In 1896 when Greer County became part of Oklahoma Territory, county officials rented space in several buildings. In 1901 a fire in one of those structures destroyed some county records. At that time the county commissioners considered building a courthouse. Designed by architect Solomon A. Layton, the facility was completed in 1906.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/GreerCountyCourthouse14.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/GreerCountyPlaque.jpg
The interesting history of Greer County
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/g/gr025.html
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Land Run of 1889 represented unknown possibilities for men who flocked to the Sooner State, before it ever was a state. The City Clerk’s records go back to 1890 but residents who lived then probably never could have imagined what the state would like now, 125 years later.
At Davis, Oklahoma......
We are going to be selling my Dad's 1948 Plymouth Coupe. If you know anyone
looking for a Street Rod that is "ready to go" please feel free to share or have
them contact me. I have a few interested now and yes I would love to keep it but
that's not happening. I have it here in Davis. Thanks ! Contact Bryan Pullen in
Davis.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/1948PlymouthCoup.jpg
This photo was taken about 1950 on Main Street. You can see the old Tivoli Theater and the old Reavis Drug store.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/ArdmoreMainStreet1950.jpg
This is a close-up of the old Tivioli theater the way it looked about 1939.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/TivoliTheatre1939.jpg
I snapped this photo of the plaque in front of the old Luke's Music Store on Ardmore's Main Street.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/LukesMusicStorePlaque.jpg
Someone has been installing a new fence one mile south of Lone Grove. Putting up a barbed wire fence is no walk in the park. One would think just drive the T-Post in the ground, and string the wire. But if you don't know what you're doing your new fence is going to look like crap. Whoever is putting up this fence is a real pro. It's straight, even and solid.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/NewFence042314a.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/NewFence042314b.jpg
My list of vicious dog attacks just keeps growing. Last Friday a 74-year old Enid woman was viciously attacked by two dogs. She is still recovering in the hospital. When is something going to be done about vicious dog attacks and their owners in this state? This lady will have 10's of thousands of dollars in medical bills and the dog's owner will probably not pay any of those bills.
Q. What is the longest river in Oklahoma?
A. Oklahoma's longest river is the Beaver/North Canadian River (766
miles); the Red River is the second longest (592 miles).
Q. Where is the deepest cave in Oklahoma?
A. (answer in next week's T&T)
From This and That newsletter archives of April 15, 2000:
I had a special visitor this week. Bruce Joseph, Field Coordinator with the Oklahoma Historical Society came to Ardmore, to talk about the planned Airpark memorial. Bruce was so helpful, and we talked about several ideas for the memorial and dedication service. I know everyone is going to like the suggestions and help that Bruce as passed along to us. I'll tell much more in a week or two.
----------------------------------------------------A friend told me about three bells located in Lone Grove city limits, just a mile south of Highway 70 on Brock Road. It just so happened the day I went out to snap a pic of one, they were having a garage sale. So I stopped, looked around for a minute then asked the owners if I could take a picture of the bell in their front yard. He probably thought I was crazy at first, but agree and said to ahead. That house was at Howard Road and Myall Road, just a few feet west of Brock and Myall Roads.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellphotos/brocka.jpg
This next bell was at a yard in the NW corner
of Brock Road and Myall... way up a driveway, near the house.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellphotos/brockb.jpg
And this last bell was about halfway
between Highway 70 and Brock Road South. The owner of this bell didn't even know
there were two other bells within a few hundred feet of his!
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellphotos/brockc.jpg
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"Butch, Will you ask your many readers
if they have any knowledge about a photography studio that was back in Oklahoma
Territory & Indian Territory called Walpole Studio? Have an old photo of a
relative taken by them...and Walpole's Studio is stamped on the back of it. Just
wondered if it was a permanent studio, or maybe one of the traveling kind.
Thanks for your wonderful column each Saturday...it is a joy to see on the Mail
list every Saturday morning...like getting a letter from an old friend."
----------------------------------------------------
"The legend, or so it is told, of the
"Mad Stone" which is in my possession, has many years behind it. Over 100 years
ago, Clifton Elmer Winter, my great-grandfather, as a child, was playing under a
covered wagon. While under the wagon, a dog, supposedly mad, bit him on the
nose. The wound that was inflicted on this child, ran the length of his nose. In
those days, there was no such thing as a rabies shot, so his folks took this
stone and soaked it in milk. It was then placed on the wound, where it was held
for a couple of days (by itself, so I am told). It released itself only after
all the poison was extracted from the wound. These mad stones were used in this
manner to keep children from going "mad" when bitten by a rabid dog. Clifton
Elmer Winter, (my great-grandfather), kept this stone until shortly before his
death in 1956, when he gave it to C.T. Winter (my grandfather). C.T. Winter in
turn gave it to Bennie Winter, (my father), about 1965. When my grandfather gave
this stone to Bennie, he told him to pass it on down to me, Scheryl Winter
Williams, which was passed on to me in October of 1989. This stone and the
legend behind it, has great sentimental value to me."
----------------------------------------------------
"Butch, my grandmother told a story to
me once about a man bitten by a rabid dog. She did not really say where they got
this "stone", but said it was a smooth, round, white stone, and it was put on
the wound, where it stuck for some time before falling off. The man did not
develop rabies. It was interesting to hear that there were other similar stories
, and maybe I shouldn't have been so skeptical of her story. I'd say it
definitely sounds more believable than the one about the snake that could roll
like a bike tire, fall into pieces, and put itself back together again."
----------------------------------------------------
"I am also a granddaughter of Harris
(Harry) Gaines, who was the janitor at the old Carter County Court House, where
he had is first heart attack. The times we climbed those stairs and listened to
the echo of our shoes hitting the steps and the voice of Granddad saying, "Be
careful." Looking up at what seemed the most beautiful sight--the rotunda. As a
child of the fifties, that building and the old viaduct on fifth street
northeast, which has burned since then, were my favorite places to walk with
him."
----------------------------------------------------
"On May 27, 1927, several young Carter
County men were killed in an oil well explosion and fire in Sanford, TX. My
great uncle Bryant Daniel, age 29, was one of those killed and my grandfather
Claud Daniel was burned badly but he recovered. Most of the men came from
Rexroat, Graham, Healdton, and they worked for the Blacky East Casing Crew out
of Borger, TX. One newspaper report said that Bryant was married and had four
children. He lived in Rexroat. I am asking for help in finding any of his
descendents since I have never met any of them. There were six Daniel brothers
in the county and there were three sisters who lived elsewhere. All of them are
deceased now and I would love to find some new cousins to share info and
stories. If any of your readers know of any of the Daniel ancestors please have
them contact me." -Del Daniel, grandson of Claud Daniel
----------------------------------------------------
"Hi Butch, man i had forgotten about
the fifty cent coin rings. I made one of those in 1949 while in the navy. I do
remember how sore my fingers got while holding that coin and pounding on it with
the spoon. Someone asked me the other day if I knew when the water tower on
north commerce was built, I didn't. I'm sure you have written about this before
but maybe you can refresh my memory."
----------------------------------------------------
"On Friday, March 3, 2000 General
Robert E. Lee's boyhood home was CLOSED to the public after 30 years as a
museum. The Lee-Jackson Foundation sold it to a multimillionaire couple as their
private home, NOT open to the public. The sale was totally secret until it was a
"done deal". The house was never publicly on the market, and the millionaire
buyer asked the Foundation to keep the sale confidential."
Address: 607 Oronoco St., Old Town, Alexandria, VA
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Gas prices today in the Ardmore area......
http://www.oklahomagasprices.com/index.aspx?mss=152754
Check gas prices by town or zip code anywhere in U.S.
http://www.kmov.com/traffic/gas-buddy
Non-ethanol gas (pure gas) stations in the Ardmore area.
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/puregas.html
Some mail from this week's MAILBAG.....
2014 Carter County Master Gardner Show at the Market Place on
East Broadway. April 26th 9:00am to 3:00pm
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/2014MasterGardenShow.jpg
Old postcard of the asphalt mines south of Lone Grove, Oklahoma.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/AsphaltMineArdmoreITa.jpg
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/AsphaltMineArdmoreITb.jpg
The Springer Volunteer Fire Department BBQ is Saturday, May 3 starting at 6:00 PM. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the bbq, music and the dance. Will be held in the Springer Community Storm Shelter.
Anyone looking for old doors, windows, architectural pieces, re-claimed building materials and the like, Discount Home Warehouse in Dallas has it all. A person can spend hours just browsing through all the old stuff, tons of it. What they do is go in to the old homes that are going to demo and get all the old good stuff out of it.
http://oklahomahistory.net/ttphotos14a/DiscountHomeWarehouseTexas.jpg
"A doctor can bury his mistakes but
an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines."
-Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Nashobish Ikana
PO Box 11
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73402
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/viciousdogs.html
Bells of Oklahoma
http://www.oklahomahistory.net/bellpage.html
Carter County Courthouse Paver Project
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/pavers
Save on long distance calls, just a couple cents a
minute!
http://www.CheapLongDistance.org
Ardmore High School Criterions Online
http://www.ArdmoreCriterion.com/
Oklahoma Bells:
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/bellpage.html
American Flyers Memorial
Fund - Administration Webpage
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/crash66.html
Official American Flyers
Memorial Website
http://www.brightok.net/~wwwafm
Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force
Base Website
http://www.brightok.net/~gsimmons
Mirror Site of the Ardmore Army Air Field/Ardmore Air Force Website
http://www.OklahomaHistory.net/airbase/
Carter county schools, past and
present
http://community.webshots.com/user/oklahomahistory
Carter County
Government Website
http://www.brightok.net/cartercounty/
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