Oklahoma Genealogy

Bartlesville, the county seat of Washington County, is located near the west central part of the county at the junction of the M. K. & T. and the Santa Fe railroads. The town was named in honor of Jacob H. Bartles who came down from Kansas to this section of the country soon after the Civil war. He was so favorably impressed with the appearance of the country that he settled near the present site of his city namesake, on the banks of Caney Creek. He was a practical farmer and within the space of a few short years he…

Wagoner, the county seat of the county bearing the same name, is located fifteen miles north of Muskogee, at the junction of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy line), with the branch of the Missouri Pacific, known as the Iron Mountain Railroad, but originally called the Kansas & Arkansas Valley Road. This latter road crossed the Katy line in 1887, and the town of Wagoner was placed on the map at this railroad crossing. Captain Shannon furnished the lumber and W. H. McAnally built the first house which was occupied by McAnally as an eating house and patronized principally by…

Porter Oklahoma History Porter is a town of 600 inhabitants, located in the western part of Wagoner County on the branch of the M., K. & T. Railroad, which extends up the Arkansas River Valley from Muskogee to Tulsa. and Osage Junction. The town is located about half way between the Arkansas and. Verdigris rivers and is the trading point for the farmers of the fertile valleys of these two streams. A good quality of coal is found near the surface of the ground in this vicinity and underneath the coal in some places is found a good grade of…

Wagoner, the county seat of the county bearing the same name, is located fifteen miles north of Muskogee, at the junction of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (Katy line), with the branch of the Missouri Pacific, known as the Iron Mountain Railroad, but originally called the Kansas & Arkansas Valley Road. This latter road crossed the Katy line in 1887, and the town of Wagoner was placed on the map at this railroad crossing. Captain Shannon furnished the lumber and W. H. McAnally built the first house which was occupied by McAnally as an eating house and patronized principally by…

In 1883 a side track was built on the Katy Railroad about a mile south of the present site of the town and named “Wagoner Switch,” in honor of the chief dispatcher of the railroad. The laying of track was continued six miles farther south and Gibson Station was established during the summer of 1871, and until the spring of 1872, during which time the Arkansas River bridge was in process of construction this station was the terminus of the Railroad. Captain George Shannon, now a resident of Wagoner, conducted the principal store at Gibson Station for forty years following…

Joseph Casaver, who is still an active business man in Wagoner, is one of its pioneer citizens. He arrived there soon after the junction of the two railroads was completed and served both companies as telegraph manager. A few years later he established a drug store which he continued to manage for several years, at the same time being interested in the ice business. He was elected mayor of the city a few years after it was incorporated. He was also interested in the livery business in those days antedating the arrival of the automobile, when the pony teams were…