Marlow is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,385 at the time of the 2020 Census.[4] Marlow is located 10 miles north of Duncan, Oklahoma, and 30 miles east of Lawton, Oklahoma. Founded near the Chisholm Trail, the city is named for Dr. Williamson Marlow, a physician from Missouri who settled at Wildhorse Creek with his family in 1880.[5][6] His five sons, George, Charley, Alfred, Boone, and Llewellyn, were notorious outlaws collectively known as the Marlow brothers.
Marlow has historically been a place for white supremacist actions against Black people, with instances such as the sundown town signs that were once prominently placed in the city and the 1923 murders of A. W. Berch and his porter, Robert Johnigan.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.1 square miles (18km2), of which 7.1 square miles (18km2) is land and 0.14% is water.
History
The site that would become Marlow was first settled by Dr. Williamson Marlow, the father of the five Marlow brothers, when he and his wife, Martha Jane, moved from Missouri to the Wildhorse Creek area in Oklahoma in 1880.[5] William Rathmell's 1892 book Life of the Marlows detailed the history of the brothers' escapades and set a narrative for the city's legacy.
Born along the Chisholm Trail and on the banks of Wildhorse Creek, the legend of the Marlow family and the five Marlow brothers has been proven to be more fact than fiction.
Dr. Williamson Marlow and his wife, Martha Jane, a relative of Daniel Boone, first established a homestead in this area during the early 1880s. The site of the original Marlow family home is reported to have been located just north of Redbud Park.
Somewhat of a nomad by nature, Dr. Marlow provided medical treatment to the many settlers in this portion of Indian Territory and to many cowboys driving cattle up the Chisholm Trail. He also farmed while his sons reportedly herded horses, selling many of the animals to the U.S. Army located at neighboring Fort Sill. Dr. Marlow died in 1885.
In 1888 his five sons were accused of horse-stealing, a charge which was later proven to be unfounded. Four of the brothers (Charlie, Alfred, Boone and Lewellyn) were arrested and transported by a U.S. Deputy Marshall to the Federal Court in Graham, Texas, for trial.
Hearing of this brother's arrest, George Marlow took the entire family to Graham to clear his brothers but soon found himself behind bars.
Boone Marlow ultimately escaped and returned to the Marlow area in Indian Territory, while his four brothers were scheduled to be transported to an ostensibly safer jail in Weatherford, Texas.
Several attempts were made by Graham citizens and law enforcement officials to lynch the Marlows. On the night of January 19, 1889, the brothers were shackled in pairs—George to Lewellyn and Charlie to Alfred—for the trip to Weatherford.
When the group reached Dry Creek outside of Graham, a signal was given and a hidden mob opened fire on the seemingly defenseless Marlows.
The guards ran to join the mob while the brothers leaped from the wagon and armed themselves with guns taken from guards. In the vicious gunfight that followed, Lewellyn and Alfred were killed. Both George and Charlie were seriously wounded.
Retrieving a dead mob member's knife, George Marlow unjointed his dead brother's ankles. He and Charlie used a wagon to escape the ambush site.
Three members of the mob were also killed and a number of others wounded. Several members of the mob were later prosecuted and convicted for the assault upon the brothers.
Boone was later poisoned near Hell Creek, west of Marlow. His corpse was then shot in an attempt to obtain a $1,500 reward, but his killers, too, were brought to trial.
Alfred, Boone and Lewellyn are buried in a small cemetery at what was once Finis, Texas outside of Graham.
George and Charlie Marlow survived the attack, eventually moving their families to Colorado where they became outstanding citizens, serving as law enforcement officers.
In 1891, after sentencing mob members for their part in the attack, Federal Judge A. P. McCormick was quoted as saying: "This is the first time in the annals of history where unarmed prisoners, shackled together, ever repelled a mob. Such cool courage that preferred to fight against such great odds and die, if at all, in glorious battle rather than die ignominiously by a frenzied mob, deserves to be commemorated in song and story."
The Sons of Katie Elder, an American western film, used concepts from Life of the Marlows, a book about the Marlow brothers.
On December 17, 1923, A. W. Berch, a white hotel owner, and his Black porter, Robert Johnigan, were confronted and later murdered by an angry mob of Marlow residents.[10] Berch had hired Johnigan as a porter for 10 days before Johnigan decided to quit, citing racial tensions and a planned move to Duncan, but upon the request of a guest from Norman, he decided to give one last shoe-shine.[10] A mob of at least 15 men approached the hotel after sundown, "who went to the hotel where the negro had been employed three days ago as a porter and shot down when Birch attempted to persuade them to desist from their threat to lynch the negro."[11] Conflict ensued when Elza "Roy" Gandy apprehended Johnigan and began beating him with a stick.[10] When Berch ran to Johnigan's defense, 20-year-old Marvin Kincannon, alleged by Mrs. Berch as the leader of the mob,[12] fired a fatal bullet at Berch's chest before twice shooting Johnigan, who died from his injuries.[10][13]
Witnesses testified that Johnigan knocked Gandy across a table and that Kincannon fired when the two were separated.[13] Kincannon, allegedly the only member of the mob to brandish firearms, left the scene in an automobile with his companions after the shooting.[12] Kincannon was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for Berch's death and sentenced to 25 years in state prison, of which he served 11. Gandy was also convicted of manslaughter for his role in inciting the mob, attaching Johnigan, and furnishing the firearm that was used in the killings, for which he received a 7-year sentence.[10]
As of the 2010 census, there were 4,662 people, 1,862 households, and 1,257 families residing in the city.[19] The population density was 657 inhabitants per square mile (254/km2). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 298.5 per square mile (115.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.2% white, 0.2% African American, 5.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 5.6% from two or more races.[19]Hispanics or Latinos were 4.4% of the population, having doubled since 2000.
There were 1,862 households, out of which half (50.1%) were married couples, a third (34.3%) included children under the age of 18, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families.[19] of households were made up of individuals; 14.5% of households had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[19] The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.[19]
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older.[19] The median age was 38.8 years.[19] For every 100 females, there were 88 males.[19] For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82 males.[19]
The median income for a household in the city was $43,221, and the median income for a family was $57,713.[20] Males had a median income of $34,325 versus $29,21 for females.[20] The per capita income for the city was $20,299.[20] An estimated 10.7% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.[20]
Entertainment
Entertainment in Marlow includes:
Redbud Park located in the eastern part of the town that includes; the Hideout (a large playground), a trail through the park, a stage for concerts, and the Outlaw cave (the cave where the Marlows often hid out)
The Life Center, a church funded recreational center that includes a basketball court, a walking track, and several rooms that can be rented
Miller Park in the western part of the town that includes the public pool, Miller Pond, and the Mile trail
Main Street shops & Restaurants
Education
Marlow is serviced by the Marlow Public School District. Marlow High School is located near the center of town, and Marlow Elementary School and Marlow Middle school are also located in town.
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Rathmell, William (June 30, 2008) [1st pub. 1892]. DeArment, Robert K. (ed.). Life of the Marlows: A True Story of Frontier Life of Early Days (illustrateded.). University of North Texas Press. ISBN978-157441-179-9.
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