34 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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Altus, OK
Altus, Oklahoma, a town perched on the southwestern plains at nearly 1,300 feet, has seen its share of notable figures. The Air Force base hums with activity, a constant reminder of its critical role in the local…
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Country Music
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, in Altus, a piece of music history was made. Back in 1922, a Confederate veteran named Henry C. Gilliland, from right here, teamed up with Texan Eck Robertson. They cut…
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Gilliland, Henry C.
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of country music! Henry C. Gilliland, known locally as 'Uncle Henry' in Altus, was a champion fiddler. In 1922, he and another fiddler, Eck Robertson, traveled…
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Western Oklahoma State College
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Altus, and right here is Western Oklahoma State College. It started in 1923 as Altus Junior College, the oldest municipal two-year college in the state. But by 1933, it was on the brink of…
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Altus
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving past Altus, Oklahoma, but did you know this town started out as something completely different? Back in the 1880s, it was a tiny settlement called Frazer, with only about fifty people. Cowboys would stop…
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Altus Air Force Base
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through southwestern Oklahoma, and right here is Altus Air Force Base. It started life in 1943 as Altus Army Air Field, a place to train pilots on multi-engine aircraft during World War II. After a brief…
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Irrigation
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through western Oklahoma, where the dust bowl days of the 1930s made folks desperate for water. Right here, the story of irrigation really took off in the 1940s. Farmers started using powerful new pumps…
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Smith, Emily B.
· 1.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Jackson County, near Altus. Right here, in Altus, is where Emily B. Smith took over the struggling junior college during the Great Depression. Enrollment had plummeted to just twenty-seven…
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Doan's Crossing
· 5.4 mi · Eohc
You're driving through, or maybe just past, the area where the legendary Doan's Crossing once stood. Back in the late 1870s, this spot on the Red River was a critical point for cattle drives heading north from Texas. In…
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Duke
· 5.4 mi · Eohc
Right here, you're passing through Duke, a town with a history literally split in two! Back in 1890, Duke was founded, but by 1910, the community was divided into 'New Town' and 'Old Town,' with separate schools and…
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Jackson County
· 5.4 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Jackson County, and right here, you're following in the footsteps of history. Long before Oklahoma was even a state, this land was a vital corridor. Back in the 1600s and 1700s, Spanish explorers…
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Copper
· 5.4 mi · Eohc
Did you know Oklahoma has a history of copper mining? Right here, in southwestern Jackson County, near the town of Creta, Eagle-Picher Industries strip-mined copper shale from 1965 to 1976. They processed about 1.5…
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Martha
· 6.8 mi · Eohc
You're rolling through Jackson County, not far from Altus, on a stretch of road that was once the very beginning of Martha. Back in 1885, Clint Maddox was the first settler here. Soon after, a man named Thomas Medlin…
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Friendship
· 7.3 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Jackson County, and right here is Friendship. It started as Alfalfa back in 1898, but got its current name in 1908 when the Friendship Baptist Church moved in. By the 1930s, this rural spot was…
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Olustee
· 8.1 mi · Eohc
You're driving past Olustee, a town with a name meaning 'pond' in Seminole. Established in 1895, it quickly became a hub for trade. But here's the quirky part: the Frisco Hotel, built by a promoter who skipped town…
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Blair
· 9.8 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Blair, Oklahoma, a town that knows the fury of nature firsthand. In the 20th century alone, Blair was hammered by three major tornadoes. The worst hit in 1928, tearing apart the local school and…
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Elmer
· 10.9 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Jackson County, on Highway 283, south of Altus. Right here is Elmer, a town born from the railroad. Founded in 1901, it got its name from Elmer W. Slocum, an official with the Kansas City, Mexico…
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Headrick
· 11.2 mi · Eohc
You're driving past Headrick, Oklahoma, a town that owes its very existence to a railroad and a bit of old-fashioned town relocation drama! Back in 1901, promoter T.B. Headrick established this townsite. But here's the…
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Cross S Ranch Headquarters
· 12.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine vast herds of cattle roaming free, right here in Oklahoma. This is the story of the Cross S Ranch Headquarters. Established in 1891, the Cross S Ranch took advantage of open range and a major cattle trail to…
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Devil's Canyon (Kiowa County, Oklahoma)
· 14.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Here, the US government first met with the Plains Indians in 1834, marking a pivotal moment in westward expansion. Devil's Canyon, in present-day Kiowa County, Oklahoma, was the site of that initial formal contact. On…
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Tipton
· 14.8 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Tillman County, and right here is Tipton. Originally Farmersville, then Stinson, this town actually moved its entire location in 1909 to be closer to a new railroad line. And why the name Tipton?…
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Lugert The Underwater Ghost Town
· 17.4 mi · Things to Do
An entire town submerged beneath a reservoir after WWII. Ruins visible in drought years.
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Quartz Mountain State Park
· 17.4 mi · Things to Do
CCC-built park since 1937 with granite peaks rising from the plains.
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First Shelterbelt in America
· 18.8 mi · Things to Do
The very first shelterbelt tree was planted on the Curtis farm near Mangum on March 18 1935.
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Mangum Rattlesnake Derby
· 18.8 mi · Things to Do
Since 1966 thirty thousand people descend on Mangum to watch rattlesnake handling.
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Dust Bowl Heritage Greer County
· 18.8 mi · Things to Do
2455 farms and 19 cotton gins. Then the dust came and buried them.
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Old Greer County Museum
· 18.8 mi · Things to Do
Sixty-plus rooms in a 1907 hospital building. Free admission.
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Greer County Courthouse
· 18.8 mi · Things to Do
Designed by Solomon Layton in 1906. National Register of Historic Places.
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Greer County Dispute Supreme Court
· 18.9 mi · Things to Do
Texas claimed this land for 36 years. The Supreme Court gave it to Oklahoma in 1896.
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Tin City Mangum Founding
· 18.9 mi · Things to Do
Founded 1882 on the Western Trail. Tin shacks and cattle drives.
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Greer County
· 19.2 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Greer County, and right here in Mangum, you're standing in a town that was the county seat even when this land belonged to Texas! That's right, Mangum was chosen as the county seat back in 1886, a…
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Shelterbelts
· 19.2 mi · Eohc
Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving through a landscape shaped by a massive effort to fight the Dust Bowl. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1934</say-as>, President Roosevelt launched the Prairie States…
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Wickersham, Victor Eugene
· 19.2 mi · Eohc
Right here in Mangum, you're passing through the hometown of Victor Wickersham, a man who ran for public office more times than any other Oklahoman in the state's first century! He was so friendly, he answered the phone…
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Mangum
· 19.2 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Mangum, the county seat of Greer County. This area was once a vital stop on the Western Trail, where massive cattle drives passed through starting in 1876. The town itself was established in 1882…