BUSHWACKER: To live or hide out in the woods; to fight in or attack from the bush; to ambush. Bushwacker n – Bushwacking – n. Webster’s Dictionary During the Civil War it is doubtful that any word struck more fear in the hearts of the civilian population, north or south, than “Bushwackers.” True [...]
Both Red Phillips and his politics were hard to miss. Weighing in at 296 pounds and standing a little over six feet, the former University of Oklahoma lineman, class of 1915, attracted attention. And, during his stint as governor of Oklahoma from 1939 until 1943, his political maneuvers were just as noticeable. Leon Chase Phillips, [...]
Although the actual dates are disputed regarding when Henry ”Big Foot” Wagoner ordered construction of an additional siding on the Katy Railroad in 1872, it is certain that he didn’t realize a community would become his namesake. Nor did the roadmaster when he telegraphed Katy officials that “Wagoner’s switch was ready.” Henry Wagoner’s objective was [...]
When Deputy United States Marshal Ike Gilstrap accepted the assignment to apprehend the Wickcliffe boys in early March of 1906, he had no idea that he had signed his own death warrant. Now 45 years old, Gilstrap, a large man weighing in around 250 pounds and father of three, spent most of his adult life [...]
On the evening of Sunday, April 8, the Grand River Dam Authority secured a site south of Langley, Oklahoma, where possible prehistoric human remains were discovered earlier in the day by the property manager. Shortly after being notified of the findings, GRDA took control of the site which is on private property but lies within [...]
Wesley Disney doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his efforts toward creation of the Pensacola Dam at Langley, even though a post office honoring his name was opened on May 21, 1938. When stories are told about the founding of the town of Disney, its namesake is frequently overshadowed by the activities of C.D. [...]
As far as the history of Wagoner, Oklahoma is concerned, 1871 was an important year. The first railroad, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (Katy) was under construction from Kansas to Texas. That same year Belle Reed’s second child, James Edwin Reed, was born. Wagoner and “Ed” as he became known would become entwined many years [...]
Ash Grove, Missouri, seventeen miles northwest of Springfield, has been home to two persons of interest related to the history of northeastern Oklahoma. One, Ma Barker, matronly member of the Barker Gang, was born there in 1873. Today, Ma and “the boys” are permanent residents of the Williams Cemetery, near Welch. The second, Nathan Boone [...]
Once the perfect storm of retribution against the Cherokees erupted, only the horrors that followed along the Trail of Tears exceeded the chaos that preceded it. When military rule was invoked by the United States government in 1838, troops herded more than 16,000 Cherokees into holding camps, stockades which were 200 by 500 feet with [...]
Without a doubt, northeastern Oklahoma is one of the premier beauty spots in the southwestern United States. Rolling hills to the east, punctuated by the Grand River and endless plains to the west, provide a contrast in landscape. Delaware County, encompassing nearly 800 square miles, is a case in point. Along its southern boundary is [...]
