Everything Bristow is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Bristow.
32 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
You're driving past Bristow, and right here is where the Voice of Oklahoma, KVOO radio, got its start back in January of 1925. Originally KFRU, the owner dreamed it would be heard all across America. Just a year later,…
Right here in Bristow, Oklahoma, back in 1926, a young woman named Norma Smallwood was about to become a national sensation. At just eighteen years old, she was crowned Miss America! Picture it: long brunette hair…
You're passing through Bristow, the "Woodland Queen" of the Creek Nation. While this town started as a railroad stop, it hit a major boom around 1914. That's when oil and gas were discovered in the area, turning Bristow…
Right here in Bristow, Oklahoma, you're passing through the hometown of Tom Paxton, a legendary folk singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago in 1937, Paxton moved here as a boy and got his first guitar at sixteen. He…
You're driving through Depew, a town that owes its name to a New York senator. Founded in 1901 by Walter F. Malley, it was named for U.S. Senator Chauncey M. Depew. Initially a farming community, Depew really took off…
You're driving through Creek County, and right here, you're passing through the site of Slick, Oklahoma. This place exploded into existence in March of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1920</say-as> when oil…
You're driving through Creek County, and right here is the town of Shamrock. It got its start in 1910, named by a guy who missed his hometown in Illinois. But Shamrock really hit its stride during the oil boom, becoming…
You're driving through Olive, Oklahoma, the birthplace of Jack Guthrie, the man who first made the song "Oklahoma Hills" famous. Born Leon Jerry Guthrie in 1915, he adopted the cowboy persona and name "Jack" because he…
You're driving through Kellyville, a town that started as a trading post back in 1892. It quickly grew, getting a post office in 1893 and a railroad connection by 1898, linking it to the wider world. By 1919, it was a…
Imagine hitting the jackpot, then losing it all because people thought you couldn't handle the money. That's kind of what happened here. In 1916, the Gypsy Oil Company struck it big on Jackson Barnett's land with the…
Right here in Stroud, Oklahoma, you're driving past a town with a wild past! Back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1915</say-as>, Stroud was known as a notorious "whiskey town" – one of the last places liquor…
Right here in Oklahoma, you're passing through history made by Dora Steel Schexnider Young. Born into the Sac and Fox Nation, she made history on August 25, 1973, when she became the first woman ever elected chief of…
Right now, you're driving near Sac and Fox Nation headquarters, south of Stroud. You might know the Sac and Fox for their famous member, Jim Thorpe. But did you know in 1983, they created their own system for vehicle…
You're driving through Lincoln County, right near Stroud, where Moses Keokuk, a chief of the Sac and Fox tribe, lived and died. He wasn't just a tribal leader; he was also a Baptist minister who encouraged his people to…
Pull over! You're approaching a slice of Route 66 history: The Rock Café, a survivor and a star! Built in 1936, and opening its doors in 1939, this restaurant is named for the sandstone that makes up its walls. The Rock…
You're driving through Drumright, Oklahoma, a town born from the wild days of the oil boom. Right here, back in 1912, the first producing well in the Cushing-Drumright Field blew in. Suddenly, thousands of oil-field…
Imagine this quiet spot once buzzing with the energy of Oklahoma's oil boom. This is where the Drumright Gasoline Plant No. 2 stood, a critical piece of the Cushing-Drumright Oil Field. Construction on the plant…
Right here is where Oklahoma's oil boom really took off! In 1912, Thomas Baker Slick, Sr., drilled the Wheeler No. 1 well. It was the first successful well in what became the massive Drumright-Cushing Oil Field. This…
You're driving through Mounds, Creek County, and right here is a town that boomed thanks to oil! Originally a shipping point for cattle, Mounds transformed after 1905 when the nearby Glenn Pool Field exploded onto the…
Right here in Oklahoma, folks have been raising chickens and turkeys since the early 1800s! Initially, it was just for families to eat, but by the early 1900s, the state saw big potential. In <say-as interpret-as="date"…
1882 boarding school founded by Alice Mary Robertson who later became a congresswoman.
You're driving past Sapulpa, Oklahoma, home to Frankoma Pottery! Back in 1933, during the Great Depression, John Frank started Oklahoma's first commercial pottery in Norman. He experimented with local clays, eventually…
You're driving past Sapulpa, and right here is where Oklahoma's first major oil field, the Glenn Pool, was born. It all started with the Ida Glenn Number One well, drilled by Robert Galbreath in 1905. He leased the land…
Right here, you're driving through the heart of Oklahoma's oil country, the very place that inspired a young man named William Kelly Warren to strike it rich. He arrived in Sapulpa in 1916, awestruck by the booming…
You're driving through Creek County, and right here is where Mabel Bassett made her mark. For over two decades, from 1923 to 1947, she served as Oklahoma's Commissioner of Charities and Corrections. She championed…
You're driving through Beggs, Oklahoma, a town that owes its existence to a railroad and a boom! Back in 1899, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, the Frisco, was pushing south. Its vice president, C. H. Beggs,…
Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving through a state that's been shaping the iconic cowboy boot and saddle for generations! These aren't just accessories; they're symbols of the West. The cowboy boot, with its high…
You're driving through Creek County, and right here, a bitter battle for county seat status raged! When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Sapulpa was named the temporary county seat. But Bristow wanted the title. The…
Right here in Sapulpa, you're driving past the stomping grounds of Myrtle Archer McDougal, a woman who literally changed the face of politics and women's rights in Oklahoma and beyond. Arriving in 1904, she didn't just…
You're driving through Sapulpa, a town born from a railroad stop and named for Chief James Sapulpa, a Lower Creek leader. Back in 1886, the railroad needed a place to lay its tracks, and this spot became Sapulpa…
Right here in Oklahoma, back in 1934, a powerful group called the American Indian Federation was formed. Led by Joseph Bruner, a wealthy Creek man from Sapulpa, this organization pushed back against federal Indian…
Ever wonder where a pottery mogul lives? You're about to find out. The John Frank House, designed by architect Bruce Goff, is a unique example of mid-century modern architecture right here in Creek County.Commissioned…