Winchester, Woods County, Oklahoma
Winchester is a populated place in Woods County, Oklahoma.[1][2] It is located at an elevation of 1,483 feet at a point 9.1 miles west-southwest of Hardtner, Kansas, and 12 miles northwest of the Woods County seat of Alva, Oklahoma.[2]
History[edit]
Winchester, as part of what became Woods County, was opened to settlement by the Land Run of 1893.[3] A post office was created there in 1895[4] while the area was still Oklahoma Territory. A 1902 Woods County Directory indicates the town had daily stage service to Alva.[5] Casual mentions of Winchester can be found in Renfrew’s Record, the newspaper in Alva, from at least 1902 to 1921.[6][7] A 1911 map of Woods County shows its location, together with the ephemeral settlements of Fitzlen to its east, Gamet to its southeast, Flagg to its southwest, and Faulkner, Abbie & Kingman to its west.[8]
But Winchester was not built on a railway: the rail line from Kiowa, Kansas came into Alva from the northeast, running well east of Winchester,[9][8][10] while the Buffalo and Northwestern Railroad, which connected Buffalo, Oklahoma with Waynoka by way of Freedom in the 1919–20 timeframe, was too far south.[11] Further, the town was bypassed by major highways, with the nearest, US Route 281, well to the location’s east.[12] The town did not thrive, and the post office closed in 1939.[4]
This settlement is not to be confused with the modern-day community of Winchester, Oklahoma, in Okmulgee County.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "Winchester". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Winchester (in Woods County, OK) Populated Place Profile". HomeTownLocator. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Oklahoma Territory". Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Carson, Mary L. (1987). A Guide to Treasure in Oklahoma, Volume 3. Carson Enterprises Inc. p. 438. ISBN 0-941620-38-7.
- ^ "Woods County, Oklahoma 1902 Directory". Genealogy Trails. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Some Alva Visitors". Renfrew’s Record (Alva, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 1, No. 42, Ed. 1, p.6, Thursday, August 28, 1902 (accessed on The Gateway to Oklahoma History). Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ "Article". Renfrew's Record (Alva, Okla.), Vol. 20, No. 17, Ed. 1, P.9, Friday, February 18, 1921 (accessed on The Gateway to Oklahoma History). Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Woods County, Oklahoma 1911 Map". My Genealogy Hound. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Alva, OK". Mapquest. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Oklahoma 2018-2020 State Railroad Map" (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ "Winchester, Oklahoma 73717". Google Maps. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Winchester, OK 73717". Google Maps. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "Winchester". Glynis Coleman, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
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36°57′26″N 98°47′50″W / 36.95722°N 98.79722°W
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