Kristi Eaton - The Main Streets of Oklahoma: Okie Stories from Every County

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2014 by Kristi Eaton

All rights reserved

Cover and internal images by the author unless otherwise noted.

First published 2014

e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978.1.62585.181.9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Eaton, Kristi.

The main streets of Oklahoma : Okie stories from every county / Kristi Eaton.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-62619-649-0 (paperback)

1. Streets--Oklahoma--History--Anecdotes. 2. Community life--Oklahoma--History--Anecdotes. 3. City and town life--Oklahoma--History--Anecdotes. 4. Historic buildings--Oklahoma--Anecdotes. 5. Historic sites--Oklahoma--Anecdotes. 6. Oklahoma--History, Local--Anecdotes. 7. Oklahoma--Social life and customs--Anecdotes. 8. Oklahoma--Description and travel--Anecdotes. 9. Oklahoma--Biography--Anecdotes. I. Title.

F695.E25 2014

976.6--dc23

2014033886

Notice : The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

There are lots of untold stories right here on Main Street.

Robert Cormier

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Writing a book has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Actually, this isnt my first book if you count the handful of picture books about puppies I created in kindergarten and first grade. But this one includes far more words and took much more research time. Because of that, I owe gratitude to a lot of people.

My family, as much as they may have regretted it later on, instilled my adventurous and observational spirit from a young age. Sitting at the kitchen table reading the three newspapers that arrived on our front porch each day at the age of eight, I could only imagine what sort of world laid out before me. I vowed to see, explore and learn about it as much as I could. This thirst for exploration and new experiences led me hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away to the dry desert, a tiny Pacific island, the farmlands of South Dakota and, ultimately, back to Oklahoma, where I investigated communities I had never before even heard of.

Richard spent many weekends driving me all over Oklahoma and researching these foreign areas in our own backyards. I would like to think he enjoyed examining Main Streets as much as I didhe did take several iPhone photos and plastered them across social media, after allbut I know, deep down, he gave up his weekends because of how much he cares for me. He supported me from day one when I told him I wanted to write this book, and for that I am thankful.

The Oklahoma Historical Society provided invaluable information about the history of many of the cities and towns I traveled to, and that research is used throughout this book.

The Main Streets of Oklahoma: Okie Stories from Every County would never have been possible without the many community members who didnt flinch when I walked up to them, called them or emailed them out of the blue and asked them to share their stories about living and working on Main Street. I cant thank them enough.

The History Press and Becky LeJeune seemed intrigued by this idea from the start. Im deeply appreciative of them taking a chance on me and my affinity for Oklahomas history and quirkiness.

Introduction

From a very young age, I have had a fascination with Main Street and all that it represents: the small-town feel of a community moving at a slower pace, a deep sense of involvement among local residents who care about one another and a friendliness rarely seen in the hustle and bustle of a large city.

As a child, I grew up in Tulsa, a city of fewer than 400,000 with its own street named Main. But on weekends and holidays, I was whisked away to a different world. This world was only one hundred miles to the northeast in southeast Kansas, but it might as well have been a world away. It was a world where car doors were left unlocked, kids were able to walk to the community pool by themselves and Dairy Queen and the local bowling alley were the places to see and be seen on a Friday night.

It was a place where last names were unnecessary and genuine greetings were an expected part of the day. It was a world shaped around a street that brought the community together. At the end of those trips that lasted two to three days, my family and I would get back in the car and drive south until we returned to our neck of the woods, where SUVs crisscrossed streets, oversized homes were the norm and going shopping meant fighting hordes of people looking for discounts at the big-box stores or the major retailers in the mall. This world had a bit of a faster pace to it and far fewer friendly greetings.

As an adult, I found myself once again mesmerized by Main Street and everything it represents in a small town. Its oftenbut not alwaysthe center of town. Its where people go to eat, to sleep and to socialize.

In Oklahoma, Main Street is also where people can see hulking horse statues pieced together from leftover metal parts or memorabilia from the movie Twister or watch an old-time bank robbery come to life. I knew Oklahomas Main Streets had a lot to offer in understanding how a community was shaped, so I set out to find the unique events, landmarks and people that call the iconic streets home. I crisscrossed Oklahoma, focusing on one Main Street in each of Oklahomas seventy-seven counties. Part travelogue and part history book, The Main Streets of Oklahoma: Okie Stories from Every County shares the hidden, quirky and forgotten stories along these historic streets.

Adair County

Former Buffington Hotel

Corner of Main Street and Williams Avenue, Westville

It doesnt seem like there would be a lot of need for a hotel in Westville, which is just a few miles from the Arkansas border. The far-eastern Oklahoma town of 1,640 people seems to be one of those places that travelers best experience from the comfort of their cars as they pass through on the way to their final destination.

A century ago, it was a far different landscape: Westville was the county seat of the newly formed Adair County and home to two railroad lines. It was determined that tired and fatigued travelers needed a place to stay overnight on their journeys, and so, the two-story, red brick Buffington Hotel was built in 1910.

The opening date of the hotel, which featured more than twenty guest rooms, may have been its greatest downfall. The year it opened was the same year that the county seat moved fifteen miles to the south to Stilwell.

Westvilles growth suffered, and soon the town wasnt in need of a hotel as much anymore. The Buffington Hotel was shuttered by the 1930s, and the building was later used as housing before a local man, Bud Rose, purchased it.

Rose, who is eighty years old, said he initially bought the historic building in hopes of renovating and restoring it back to its original grandeur. That never happened though, and the once-magnificent hotel looks as if it has seen better days.