The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-12-19
NX-YEAR OLD
Town DEC0R0US
Oilton's Early Bad Repute
Has Been Successfully
Lived Down
Room FROM THE START
Oil Resources Far From Be-
ing Exhausted and the
Field Expanding

oILToN, Dec. 1s.--six years ago
.hls month the first oil wells were
tr,lled In this section Of Creek coun-
&c and lust a month after that time.
or on January is, 1915, the town Of
Oilton was started. a company was
formed for tho promotion Of the
,ovnsite and Col. william Murdoch.
now OF New York city, selected tho
nrssent townsitc, opened up an Of
sice for the sale OF lots. and the
boom was on.
The townsite was surveyed and
n,an,ed and within few weeks sew
eral lots had been sold on what
pron,Ised to be the Main street OF
,he little oil town. Even the most
ssnguine had no idea that there
would be such u rush for lots and
40 many substantial buildings would
90 I'D the first year of tho towns cx-
irence But a number OF good brick
business houses were put up the
first year OF the towns life and are
still occupied and today the town
has a population OF close to 5000.
Early in March Of 1915 the town
had grown enough that "A bank was
started, and today In one OF the
strongest financial institutions In
the county. with a showing
Of close 10 S650,000 on deposits.
There is also another bank In the
city, several years younger, which
has deposits amounting TO nearly
100000. Other institutions In the
city are on the same proportions as
the banks and Oilton In one OF the
BUSIEST and livest places in Creek
county.
In the early days Oilton, like all
oil towns. was wild and woolly" and
many events were pulled off that
were not strictly according to the
statutes. Gambling and bootlegging
we're run with a wide-open disre-
gard TO all moral and state laws. 1t
st that time was reputed to be tho
toughest place in all oklahoma. but
was no worse than many other
towns built on and along the same
line. II was wide open. seven days
in the week and never closed any
OF It's doors at night. AS said gamb-
ling was one of the principal pas.
times of the day. and u number OF
the gambling places, to protect
themselves from raids by the coun-
,y officials. built steel cages and
placed lookouts in them, armed with
u
ton, from the officers Of the law
and from hold-up men who might ,
take the place unexpectedly. n
number Of men are reported to have /
been shot from these look outs
but no proof has ever been shown /
that this Is absolutely true.
II was in this city that white !
man killed another. in a garage, was
captured. convicted and electrocuted
at McAlester, about n year ago, be-
ing the first white man ever exc
cuted in the state. Many bad men
have called 1t home. may perhaps
still call it home. but they have
changed their mode Of life.
Today Oilton Is one OF the incest.
most quiet, peace loving and law
abiding places In Creek county. The
law holds sway here just the same
as in other portions OF Creek coun-
~. Tho one-time bad man Is no
more. and is just as anxious that
Oilton become good town In
which 10 live as anyone else. They
wish II to become n place where
their children can receive an edu- |
cation and become respected as law
abiding citizens of the great COM |
monwealth OF Oklahoma. The city !
has one OF the best school systems
In the county, employing about 40 ,
teachers, besides a superintendent, |
mas nearly 1900 pupils enrolled and !
the school budset for the years
ls?O-2l carries an appropriation or .
close to $4,000. The taxable wealth ,
tthe district is we'll above the 3d. !
10000 mark. where six years ago
The taxable wealth was not enough
10 allow OF nine months term OF ]
Shool With but one teacher, who /
only received n salary OF $50 per
month. All this is traceable to the
OIL industry In the district.
The bad name that was given the
,own In its first year OF existence. In !
,asi disappearing, new people COM
ing In are not told of the early days
and the older inhabitants are not
proud Of its az whole. Very few
old days" of a wide open town" as
y was then called. for they have
round out that their property Is now
much more valuable and the town
as whole is more prosperous. !,
Many OF tho old landmarks still re-
main but during the coming year
several Of them will be torn down
ana substantial brick business !
houses will replace the old frame
Gambling houses.
Taken asa whole the township in
which O!lton Is located, Tiger No,
=, perhaps turns In as much gros:
sJauction tax as any township in
I've county. New production Is be- !
ms extended and little over year I
40 u was thought the Oilton field
%ad gone It's limit today is extend
as 70 the east. north aud west, and
w, ~ now thought that some more
Ills lis VIII be drilled just south and
an eA OF The town site. The gasoline
sp,ahls Just south Of this city extend
iiVr miles and driving to Drumright
samost like going through a regu-
o", % cry, and at hight one never gets |
t,in 0, sight OF the electric lights. A |
Hs,,n'o 70 oiiton and through its oil
thev ,n, ~ worth anyone's time, for