Ioland, Oklahoma

Ioland, Oklahoma
Ghost town
Ioland is seen in the right half of Day County.
Ioland Show map of Oklahoma Ioland Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 35°56′38.17″N99°31′18.42″W / 35.9439361°N 99.5217833°W / 35.9439361; -99.5217833
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Ellis
Elevation	1,978 ft (603 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	580
Newspapers:	Day County Tribune

Ioland was a town in Ellis County, Oklahoma. It is 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) north of the Canadian River, and borders the south-eastern portion of the county. Nothing remains there, besides the Ioland Cemetery and Ioland School. ^{[1] [2]} The town was approximately 16 miles (26 km) miles east of Grand, located in the same county, respectively. ^{[3] [4]}

History

The town was a part of the now non-existent Day County during its period of being referred to as E County. ^{[3] [5]} It was the county seat of said place for a short period of time until it was switched to Grand on November 13, 1893. ^[6]

As of 1893, Ioland had a store, hotel, courthouse, and several places of residence. Alongside this, Ioland also had a triweekly mail route, via the neighboring community of Grand’s post office, to Higgins, Texas. They also had a weekly mail route to Camargo, Oklahoma. ^[1]

The first man lynched in Oklahoma since its organization as a territory, J.L. Chandler, was a resident of Ioland. He was lynched by a group of cattlemen due to allegedly poisoning their cattle’s water supply. ^[7]

Ioland had its own school, aptly named Ioland School, located inside a log cabin built in 1894. ^[5] The school was a half mile above the aforementioned Ioland Cemetery. ^[2] As of 1974, the Ioland School was switched from a schooling facility to a community center and voting place. ^[8]

County seat switch

The county seat location was switched from Ioland to Grand due to multiple reasons, the first reason being that the town had what was considered to be “bad tasting water,” with there being no other good available sources for water near the town either. ^{[3] [4]}

Secondly, the location of Ioland was known for being inconvenient for most residents, due to most of the population of Day County living at the other side of the Canadian River. ^[3]

Thirdly, and finally, Day County’s county courthouse, located in Ioland, was burnt down on November 12, 1893. This prompted the switch of the county seat to Grand the day after. ^[a]

Newspaper

Around the October 1st, 1893, father F.M. Smith, and his son Harry, came to Day County. The duo formed a newspaper, titled the “Day County Tribune”, which was printed with a Washington brand printing press. The tribune was scheduled to be published every Thursday, but would sometimes be late. F.M. was the editor, publisher, and founder of the newspaper, whereas Harry was the assistant and associate editor. Their newspaper was originally headquartered in Ioland, and they would often write stories about the town. ^[1]

The first subscriber of the Day County Tribune was probate judge, Robert Alcorn. Through the course of the newspapers life, it went through several owners, editors, and publishers, all of whom were relatives of the aforementioned Robert Alcorn, with only one outlier being a lady by the name of Lizzie Mead. The newspaper had a subscription rate of one dollar a year. The newspaper, alongside the county courthouse, was moved to Grand on the November 13th, 1893, thus ceasing operations in Ioland. ^[1]

See also

• Day County, Oklahoma Territory
• Grand, Oklahoma
• List of ghost towns in Oklahoma

References

1. Ranck, M. A. "Some Remnants of Frontier Journalism: A Record of Pioneer Life and Spirit" Retrieved Aug 1, 2025.
2. "Ioland Cemetery Ellis County Oklahoma" . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
3. Squire, C. A. "Old Grand, Ghost Town." Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 28, p. 400. Retrieved Jul 28, 2025.
4. Morris, John (1977). Ghost Towns of Oklahoma. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 94. ISBN   978-0-8061-1420-0.
5. "Ellis County" . Retrieved December 23, 2023.
6. "Day County" . Retrieved December 23, 2023.
7. "LYNCHED. A Free Grass Mob Hangs Herd Law Man" . Retrieved January 2, 2024.
8. Gordon, Z.V. Jr. July 6, 1974, “Ioland School” Retrieved Aug 1, 2025.

Notes

1. Some sources for the day of the arson differed by about a week. While one says the burning of the courthouse was on the 18th, ^[4] two others say it was on the 12th, meaning it was most likely on the 12th. ^{[1] [3]}