Garfield County Genealogists

Garfield County, Oklahoma

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Garfield County - Now & Then

A Look At Historical Garfield County

Enid Land Office, Cherokee Strip

Inside the Land Office of the Cherokee Strip, in Enid, Oklahoma

Towns

There were originally many small towns scattered throughout Garfield County. Today, only these towns survive, and most of them consist of little more than a Post Office, Co-op, a church or two, and maybe a quick shop.

Hunter

Waukomis

Covington

Garber

Kremlin

Carrier

Breckinridge

Fairmont

Douglas

Bison

Lahoma

Drummond

Hillsdale

Hayward (Photo Not Available)

There were many other little towns around the county that did not survive. Most of them have left little or no trace of their existence, perhaps just a railroad siding sign with the name still present. Some of these were Blanton, Shea, Cropper, Imo, Etna, Barr, etc.

The Garfield County Courthouse in downtown Enid

The Garfield County Courthouse in downtown Enid

The Chisholm Trail

One of the most famous cattle trails of the old west was the Chisholm Trail, which followed a path established by the trader, Jesse Chisholm, across Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Highway US 81 closely follows the trail across Garfield County and all of Oklahoma. There are several important historic sites along the trail in northern Oklahoma. In Garfield County, there is the Skeleton Ranch site, which was a stagecoach relay station located on Skeleton Creek (near present-day North Enid), Government Springs Park (on Boggy Creek in Enid), which was a popular water hole and campsite along the trail, and the Buffalo Springs site (a stagecoach stop) near the town of Bison. In nearby Grant County (to the North) at the town of Jefferson is the site of Sewell's Stockade, an early-day trading post at the junction of the Chisholm Trail and the Black Dog Trail (an Osage Indian trail). Visit the "Chisholm Trail" page for more photographs, and read about the Chisholm Trail Coalition, an organization in Enid involved in historical tours and re-enactments.