Numa was a farming community that was established early on in what was then "L" County in the Oklahoma Territory. This area was part of the Cherokee Strip Outlet which was opened for settlement on September 16, 1893. It is located in modern-day Grant County, between Medford and Deer Creek. It was located seven miles east and one-half mile south of Medford. It was located along the Gulf Railroad (later the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe) that connected the towns of Manchester, Wakita, Medford, and Deer Creek. The Numa Post Office was established on April 20, 1898. Numa had amenities such as a community hall, granary, weigh station, and a rail spur. Many members of the settler community made the run from Caldwell, Kansas and continued their relationships (economic and familial) with contacts from that entry point.
Much of the initial amenities were abandoned as members of the community moved to more favorable living locations such as Medford, Ponca City, and Enid.
The post office officially closed in 1943. The last post master was Mrs. Laura (Fredrick) Fitzgerald Rogers, who along with her first husband, Earl Jesse Fitzgerald, ran a general store in Numa for many years.
The Santa Fe RailRoad ceased operation in 1972. The tracks have since been removed and the railroad right-of-way has been abandoned.
The grain elevator operated by Fuquay Grain was the last surviving business left from the original town.
Much of the history of Numa was explained to the author by his father (oral in 1994 upon the death of Juanita Feagan/Cote/Gates). During the visit to Numa, all that remained of Numa was a sign along the side of the road, debris and overgrown bushes where the community hall had once existed, and the derelict (but perhaps still functional) granary that was next to the rail spur.
Present
In 2001, most of the remnants had been cleared and a new granary had been established.
The current grain elevator is operated by the W.B. Johnston Grain Company, Johnston Enterprises, Inc., of Enid, Oklahoma. Johnston's build a new office and bins across the road east from the site of the original elevator to accommodate the larger trucks used to move grain today.
On the evening of April 30, 2012, there was an outbreak of severe thunderstorms that spawned several tornadoes. The bins for the W.B. Johnston elevator were destroyed.
In July 2013, a wood-framed house as well as numerous outbuildings were moved to Numa from a nearby farm. This is the first permanent building in Numa in decades. A family moved in. The town is once again inhabited.
Grant County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,169. Its county seat is Medford. Originally designated as part of the Cherokee Outlet, it was named County L in Oklahoma Territory at the time of its opening to non-Indian settlement. A county election renamed it for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
Deer Creek is a town in Grant County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 130 at the 2010 census, an 11.6 percent decrease from the figure of 147 in 2000. It was named for a nearby stream, which is a tributary of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.
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The Oklahoma Central Railroad, (OCR) earlier the Oklahoma Central Railway, was a railroad operating in the U.S. state of Oklahoma from 1907 to 1917. It was formed by Dorset Carter of Purcell, Indian Territory, and other business interests. The corporation started life on September 20, 1904 as the Canadian Valley and Western Railway Company. It changed its name to the Oklahoma Central Railway Company on September 27, 1905. Construction was started in Lehigh, Oklahoma, in 1906 and was completed to Chickasha, Oklahoma, in 1908. The route was primarily constructed to transport coal from the mines at Lehigh to Purcell in order to service steam locomotives on the Santa Fe, which maintained a division point at that location.
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The Enid Terminal Grain Elevators Historic District is located in Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009. The district consists of concrete grain elevators located between North 10th, North 16th, North Van Buren, and Willow Streets which have dotted the Enid skyline since the 1920s.
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Horizon, located on the south side of Channel Lake, is a hamlet in Bengough Rural Municipality No. 40, Saskatchewan, Canada. It previously held the status of village until December 31, 1973. The hamlet is located 60 km (37 mi) east of the Town of Assiniboia on highway 13.
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The Gulf Railroad was incorporated under the laws of Oklahoma Territory on June 2, 1896. In 1897 it built 10.1 miles of track from Wakita, Oklahoma to Medford, Oklahoma. In the 1897-1898 timeframe, it built 26.6 miles of track from Medford to Blackwell, Oklahoma. The President of the railroad, W.A. Bradford, Jr., purchased 160 acres of land and established the town of Deer Creek, Oklahoma along that section of the line on March 14, 1898.
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