30 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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Tipton
· 7.0 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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Headrick
· 7.5 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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Altus, OK
· 7.9 mi
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
· 8.1 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.
· 8.1 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
· 8.1 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 Air Force Base
· 8.1 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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Altus
· 8.1 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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Irrigation
· 8.1 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.
· 8.1 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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Elmer
· 8.3 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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Friendship
· 9.8 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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Doan's Crossing
· 10.3 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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Jackson County
· 10.3 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
· 10.3 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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Olustee
· 10.6 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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Cross S Ranch Headquarters
· 12.4 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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Martha
· 14.5 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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Doan's Crossing
· 14.6 mi · Historical Marker
A major route for cattle drives known primarily as the Western Trail developed from far South Texas to Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s. About 1876, trail drivers along the route began crossing the Red River near this…
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Doans' Adobe Building
· 14.6 mi · Historical Marker
Corwin F. Doan (1848-1929) settled here on Red River in 1878; erected this house in 1881. In his early picket store and later, permanent building, he had large stocks of goods to supply the cowboys who annually drove…
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Manitou
· 15.0 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Tillman County, and right here is Manitou. This town has a unique origin story. Back in 1902, locals met to name their new community. Legend has it, a traveler returned from the north and said he…
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Blair
· 16.4 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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Frederick, OK
· 17.4 mi · Local history
Frederick, Oklahoma, sits nestled in the Central Great Plains, its elevated position offering broad vistas of Tillman County's agricultural landscape. This close-knit community's heritage reflects the waves of settlers…
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Snyder
· 17.5 mi · Eohc
Right here in Snyder, Oklahoma, you're driving through a town with a tragic past. In 1902, this community was established, named for a railway official. But just three years later, in 1905, a devastating tornado ripped…
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McClintic, James Vernon
· 17.5 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Kiowa County, and right here is Snyder, where "Sunny Jim" McClintic opened his first business back in 1902. He came to Oklahoma seeking his fortune on the opened Kiowa-Comanche-Apache lands. After…
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Tillman County, OK
· 18.3 mi · Local history
The flat, expansive landscape of Tillman County, typical of the Central Great Plains, has witnessed its share of change. While cotton and wheat fields still dominate the horizon, whispering tales of the county's…
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Mountain Park
· 19.0 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Kiowa County, past the community of Mountain Park. It started in 1901 as a 'tent city' named Burford, right after the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Reservation opened. Two thousand people showed up…
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Swanson County
· 19.0 mi · Eohc
You're driving through what used to be Swanson County, a place that existed for less than a year! It was carved out of Kiowa and Comanche counties in August 1910, with Mountain Park named the temporary seat. But Snyder,…
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Camp Radziminski
· 19.0 mi · Eohc
You're driving through Kiowa County, maybe near Mountain Park, and you're passing the site of Camp Radziminski. This wasn't a fort with buildings, but a temporary Army camp set up in September 1858 by Major Earl Van…
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Devil's Canyon (Kiowa County, Oklahoma)
· 19.4 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…