Day County was one of the original counties of Oklahoma Territory. Day County was in the western part of the territory, along the Texas border. When it was originally established in 1890, it was known as E County (several Oklahoma counties carried only letter designations at the time). It was later named for Charles Day, the contractor who built the first courthouse in the county seat, the now-defunct town of Ioland, Oklahoma. [lower-alpha 1]
Before the creation of Oklahoma Territory, the land that would become known as County E was simply that part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation bounded on the north by the Cherokee Outlet and Roger Mills County. [2]
The community of Ioland was named as the temporary county seat when County E was first established in 1890, but this location proved unsatisfactory for several reasons. First, the water tasted bad, and no better source was available. [lower-alpha 2] Second, Ioland was not a convenient location for the majority of county residents, who lived on the other side of the Canadian River. [2] Third, the temporary courthouse at Ioland mysteriously burned down during the night of November 12, 1893. [lower-alpha 3] The day after the fire, the three county commissioners ordered that the county seat be reestablished at Grand. [lower-alpha 4]
The county commissioners voted to move the seat to Grand, Oklahoma, along the banks of the Canadian River, which ran through the middle of the county. [3]
The burning political issue in Day County was the question whether land should be free-range (i. e., unfenced) or whether the movement of cattle should be restricted. [lower-alpha 5] Most of the large cattle ranches had started when the land was still controlled by Texas. However, Texas law did not apply when the U. S. created Oklahoma Territory (thus giving rise to Day County). Most of the settlers who moved in during the territorial days were small farmers. Initially, the cattlemen had the political advantage. If a farmer found that free-range cattle had eaten his crops, he had no recourse to be compensated for his loss. As a result, there were many charge by cattlemen that some farmers had put poison in the waters where cattle drank. The Arapaho Bee reported on May 17, 1901 that a posse of cattlemen lynched a resident of Ioland, after he had been accused of poisoning roaming cattle. [4]
When Oklahoma was granted statehood, effective November 16, 1907, Day County was abolished and several county lines were redrawn. Among the changes were Day County being split along the Canadian River. The section of the county north of the river became part of Ellis County, while the area south of the river is now northern Roger Mills County. Also, a narrow strip of land in the northeast of the old county now falls within the boundaries of Woodward County. [3]
Grand, now a defunct town, served as county seat of Ellis County until a 1908 election moved that function to the town of Arnett. Grand's townsite is 14 miles (23 km) south of Arnett. [3] Most of the inhabitants moved away by 1914. No remains are visible at the townsite. [5]
Day County encompassed the Antelope Hills, a historical landmark.
Woodward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,470. Its county seat is Woodward.
Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,924. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891.
Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,442, making it the fourth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was created in 1891.
Harmon County is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 2,488, making it the second-least populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Cimarron County. It has lost population in every census since 1930. The county seat is Hollis.
Ellis County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,749, making it the fifth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Arnett.
Beckham County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,410. Its county seat is Sayre. Founded upon statehood in 1907, Beckham County was named for J. C. W. Beckham, who was Governor of Kentucky and the first popularly elected member of the United States Senate from Kentucky. Beckham County comprises the Elk City, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Arnett is a town in and the county seat of Ellis County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 495 at the time of the 2020 census.
Gage is a town in Ellis County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 433 at the time of the 2020 census.
Pond Creek is a city in Grant County, Oklahoma, United States, along the Salt Fork Arkansas River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 856, a 4.5 percent decline from the figure of 896 in 2000.
Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,133 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee merchant. They collected and drove numerous cattle along the trail to Kansas, where they could be shipped east to achieve higher prices. The southern terminus was Red River Station, a trading post near the Red River along the northern border of Texas. The northern terminus was a trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Chisholm owned both of these posts. In the years of the cattle drives, cowboys drove large herds from ranches across Texas to the Red River Station and then north to Kansas City.
The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, Sedalia Trail, or Kansas Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory. Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushing to Texas, it remained an important route across Indian Territory until Oklahoma statehood. The Shawnee Trail was the earliest and easternmost route by which Texas Longhorn cattle were taken to the north. It played a significant role in the history of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas in the early and mid-1800s.
Cloud Chief is a small unincorporated community in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. Once the county seat of Washita County, it is now considered a ghost town. Only a few buildings remain, mostly in disrepair.
Miller County was a county that existed from April 1, 1820 to 1838, first as part of Arkansas Territory and later the State of Arkansas. It included much of what is southeastern Oklahoma and the northeastern counties in Texas. It was named for James Miller, the first governor of the Arkansas Territory.
Grand is a ghost town in Ellis County, Oklahoma, United States. It served as the county seat of Day County and then of Ellis County until the seat moved to Arnett in 1908.
Joel Bryan Mayes was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation were the lands granted the Southern Cheyenne and the Southern Arapaho by the United States under the Medicine Lodge Treaty signed in 1867. The tribes never lived on the land described in the treaty and did not want to.
Preston, also known as Preston Bend, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located on the Red River in Grayson County, Texas, United States. It grew in the 19th century at the intersection of several military and trade roads and was an important crossing on the Shawnee cattle trail. Preston lost prominence after the MK&T railroad bypassed the town to the east, leading to a decline in traveler and cattle drive traffic. Much of its former town site is submerged beneath the waters of Lake Texoma. Its population was 2,096 as of the 2010 census.
The Land Run of 1892 was the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation to settlement in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of seven in Oklahoma, it occurred on April 19, 1892, and opened up land that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Roger Mills counties. The land run also opened up what would become part of Ellis County, but was designated County "E" and then Day County prior to statehood.
Ioland was a town in Ellis County, Oklahoma. It is near the Canadian River and borders the south-eastern portion of the county. Nothing remains there, besides the Ioland Cemetery.