The first house built in Ardmore, Oklahoma, is the 700 Ranch Cabin (also known as the Roff House). Built around 1879 by the Roff brothers (Alva, Jim, Andy, and Joe) as the headquarters for the Seven Hundred Ranch, this log structure predates the formal founding of Ardmore and the arrival of the railroad in 1887. The historic cabin was moved and preserved, and it is now located near the Greater Southwest Historical Museum at 35 Sunset Dr SW, Ardmore, OK. It was originally in 1879 located near 2nd and G Street Southeast.
For almost a century, a remnant of the 700 ranch house could be seen at the southwest corner of G Street and 2nd Avenue Southeast. Pete Nugent, who owns the house in later years, sold it to Oscar key, then bought it back again. Although lacking water and sewer connections, the old ranch house was usually rented. In 1957, it was entered on the tax roll for $15, the lowest valuation in the city. Later, after the structure had suffered complete deterioration, a replica of the original double log house with a breezeway or “dog trot” between the two sections was built near Hardy Murphy Coliseum. Then the decision was made in 1991 to move this reproduction to the grounds of the Greater Southwest Historical Museum. Strangely enough, the original site of Ardmore’s first dwelling was has never been marked in any manner and is known to very few. –Territory Town- The Ardmore Story by Sally M. Gray 2006
Below is the Brock school house located SW of Ardmore (see map). The community and local school were named after Smith Brock, a prominent local Chickasaw figure. By the early 1920s, Brock operated as a common school offering eight grades of work (grades 1–8). In 1923, historical county records noted a student census of approximately 125 children under the direction of principal Grace Blankenship and teacher Ada Ferguson.
I haven’t mentioned it in a very long time, but back in 2007 Chuck Stallcup worked tirelessly creating a KML file (Google Earth) showing the locations of all schools in Carter county right down to almost the exact spot. The link below will take you to the file for viewing.
https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1tQ3O8vR1u5GHe7hTCZixgRT7MKSgGDnt?usp=sharing
Below is the old Tishomingo pump station near the Pennington Creek Dam (near Ward Street on the north edge of town). Because the legacy plant exceeded its useful life, the city in partnership with the Chickasaw Nation, federal agencies, and engineering firm Burns & McDonnell Engineering chose to replace it.
A brand-new, modern $13.1 million water treatment plant (doubling previous treatment capacity to 1 million gallons per day) was completed and opened in October 2024, succeeding the decades-old historic operations.
From This Weeks Mailbag
Hi Butch, I’m a great-grandson of Earl Frisby Hunter (1882–1952), who lived in Carter County most of his life. The family lived at Milo in the early 1920s, at Akers in 1930, and at Berwyn in 1940. Earl is buried at Keller Cemetery NE of Wilson. My grandfather, JQ Hunter, was born at Milo in 1922.
In my grandfather’s memory, Earl was a lawman, perhaps a deputy sheriff or a township constable, but we haven’t found a record to confirm it. I saw in your newsletter that a reader has been compiling a list of Carter County deputies since statehood. Would you happen to know whether an Earl Hunter or E. F. Hunter appears on that list, or in any Ardmoreite clippings you’ve come across? I’ve included a video of my grandpa sharing a story from somewhere around 1930-1934 of someone turning themselves in to Earl Hunter in the middle of the night.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CmVu-c7DkwY3zo1baPJyoGllNVYV9qPb/view?usp=drive_link
We’re putting together a book for the family this Christmas, so anything you or your readers know would mean a lot. I’m happy to share what we have on the Hunter family for your records in return.
Thank you for keeping all this history online.
Dawson Hunter
Oregon City, Oregon
Hey Butch, Always enjoy the Newsletter and especially when you have some Tech News regarding software you recommend because you are using it. I just downloaded the Backup software Hasleo Backup Suite earlier and have it installed and already have my important files backed up. I have also been using the SurfShark VPN for several months. A really good program. I will start using the new feature you mentioned last week. Thanks for doing the hard work in proofing the software before passing it on to your readers/viewers. Just thought I would let you know my appreciation for you. Enjoy this super nice fall weather. I’m just south of you in the north Texas area about 25 miles NE of Ft Worth. Still could use a little more rain though. -Jerry Summy – Transplanted Okie
https://www.hasleo.com/
Anyone know where I can find the book The Scales Of Justice written by Ardmoreite James A. Clark? 580 369 8276
The Tech Corner
Last week I talked about a free backup program I ran across. Its been working great. Two days ago I really put it to the test. I decided on my second computer to remove Microsoft Edge. That was a mistake. I lost several icons on my screen and some of my programs I use were gone. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it got. I had just did a backup the day before using Hasleo Backup Suite. So, I ran it, hit their Restore tab and in less then 5 minutes my PC was back to normal before I messed it up. I’ve tried dozens of backup programs the past 25 years, paid and free ones, and this free one is the cat’s meow. Highly recommended.
https://www.hasleo.com/
Just a side note: I’ve said for decades its nice to backup your programs and files. But are you sure you have a good backup? As a test I’d have someone (or me) delete an unimportant file at the computer I was at, then ask the person to Restore it. Most of the time they couldn’t restore the file to their hard drive. I could tell you horror stories about when I worked IT at the courthouse and Sheriffs office where some employee lost it all because of no backup on their workstations.
If I eres a gambling man I guess I should go to the nearest Casino. I’ve really been lucky the past couple weeks finding Oklahomans (most in the Ardmore area) with unclaimed insurance at the State Treasurers office. I’ve connected with its owners tens of thousands of dollars. Nearly all did not even know they had money to claim. I’ve received lots of help from my 7,000 Facebook and website friends which I appreciate so much. https://yourmoney.ok.gov/
See everyone next week!
Butch and Jill Bridges
Ardmore Oklahoma
580-490-6823
https://oklahomahistory.net
