09.20.05
Posted in Ghost Towns at 7:24 am by NW Okie
Photo was taken February 25, 2001 at the southwest entrance to Warwick, north off of Route 66.
According to the Lincoln Historical Society Warwick originated from the East half and Southwest quarter of Section 17, Twp 14N, Range 3 EIM (east indian meridian), Territory of Oklahoma. The rural area around Warwick used agriculture for family income with cotton as the cash crop.
David M. High and his wife, Norah Copp, were very early settlers of Warwick. Norah was born in Canada and moved to Kansas, USA, at the age of seven years. Several years passed, and she married David High.
Between the opening of the Run of 1889, and the Sac and Fox opening of 1891, Territory of Oklahoma, Mr. and Mrs. High and their oldest daughter moved to Purcell. Later in 1891 they moved to their “homestead” on South half of the SE quarter, Section 17-Twp 14N-Rge3 EIM. Their patent was signed 9 April 1901 by President McKinley.
17 September 1896… the Saint Louis & San Francisco Railway purchased right-of-way from David High for the building of a railroad.
In 1903… High deeded to Hoffman and Hoffman deeded to Fort Smith & Western Railway Company right-of-way for another railroad.
Hoffman sold land to Monarch Investment which surveyed and platted the lots and streets. On September 18, 1903, Monarch filed notice of establishment of the town of Warwick and the sale of lots began. Streets were named after the presidents. The streets were black-topped in 1968.
September 21, 1903, the county attorney, Emery Foster, in Territory of Oklahoma, filed a petition against Monarch Investment, alleging a lottery scheme was used to sell lots. The selling of lots to various bidders was then supervised by sheriff Martin. In December, 1905, the unsold lots were sold to Texas Townsite Company of Warwick, and later sold to individuals.
Early businesses of Warwick…
Bank
Drug store
Saloon
Depot (serving both RR)
Warwickian Newspaper
McCall’s Blacksmith
Two Hotels - Warwick Hotel was owned by Dave & Norah High who bought it from Mr. Bruce. It was destroyed by a tornado and the lumber was bought by Homer Pool.
Cotton Gin &; Mill
Several small Grocery Stores, Filling stations & garage services
The Cherry’s were just one of those who owned a store in Warwick and sold groceries, hardware, dry goods, lumber, caskets, and later added gas pumps & post office.
Veternarian - Nate C. Sellars
Delivery barn - G. S. Dodd
Saw Mill - J. L. Cheatham
Southland Cotton Company - Cotton Gin
Cheatham family operated the grocery store near the depot for years. It included a Post Office. They moved from Warwick to south side of town where the new grocery store was built. During the automobile era, they operated a garage.
1940’s… The Frisco Railway Co. & Fort Smith & Western Railway were abandoned for financial problems and taken over by Burlington Northern. passenger service was discontinued, but freight service continued until 1986.
1963… When some towns were annexing towns in their area that bordered them, citizens of Warwick didn’t see benefit to them for annexing. The entire Warwick School District No. 138 (1800 acres) was incorporated. Making Warwick the largest town in the area, in Lincoln County.
The Warwick School building was used as a community building and cared for by the Warwick Community Club, approved by the Wellston School Board.
The First School… Warwick’s first school was a log buidling that was also used as a church.
In 1908… twenty children attended school in the Methodist church building with one teacher, Carrie Brewer.
In 1909… A solid block building was constructed. The blocks were made for the building by a local business man J. L. Cheatham.
In 1940… Warwick School District #138 was built by the WPA (Workman’s Progress Administration). While it was being built the students went to the Methodist church just east of the school ground. The custodian, Golda Pinkston, put the finish on the floors of the two-room school before desks and students moved in.
May, 1968… The Warwick School coonsolidated with Wellston School.
The Warwick School was used one term for the “Headstart” program with 24 students enrolled. Ruth Davenport Greenfield and Tawyna Humphrey Franklin were the teachers. Citizens of McKinley now use the building as a voting district.
Teachers of the Warwick School…
Earl Alden
Bertha Foster
Della Weaber
Minnie Kunkle
Mary Cooper
J. O. Geiser
Myrtle Gerardy
Verkah Thomas
Myrtle Sudheimer
Anna Vassar
Vera Clonts
Opal Sudheimer
Eunice Goble
Hazel Morris
Lavinia Bowker
Dora Bowen
Otis Gilliam
Mary Conley
Elizabeth Alexander
Gladys Scott - last to teach
Hurst Park… In Warwick, just west of the Old Warwick school building is the Hurst Park built and dedicated by the Hurst family in that area.
Warwick Post Office… Lincoln County received mail overland by stagecoach from Guthrie. It took a day to travel a distance of 50 miles from Guthrie. Mr. Wilson owned a store in the area of Warwick (which was not yet a town). His store handled the mail, but did not have a post office name. The Warwick Post Office, began October 26, 1892, with J. A. Ramsey, postmaster.
Postmasters of Warwick included the following: J. A. Ramsey, J. L. Cheatham family, G. S. Dodd, J. W. Cherry, Golda Dixon. The post office closed in December 1972 when Golda Dixon retired.
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Posted in Ghost Towns at 7:23 am by NW Okie
County - Alfalfa
Location - Sec. 32-T26N-R11W, 4 miles south, 3 miles west of Cherokee
Post Office - December 24, 1898 thru April 30, 1952.
Newspaper - The Hustler
Railroad - Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway (Santa Fe).
Yewed was never an incorporated town, nor has it ever been recognized for any specific activity. The town has become noted for the spelling of its name. Shortly after the victory of Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay in 1898, an application was made for a rural post office, and the name Dewey was suggested. The application was approved, but since there was another post office with the name of Dewey, the Post Office Department reversed the spelling. The rural post office of Yewed and the town of Yewed came into existence.
The town was platted in 1902. Some lots were sold, but payment was deferred until after the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad had laid its tracks and built a depot.
No more than 50 persons ever lived in the town at the same time. The principal activities revolved around an elevator, a roller mill, and a grain dealer. There were also two stores, a blacksmith shop, and two churches. No school was ever built.
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Posted in Ghost Towns at 7:22 am by NW Okie
Slapout (Nye) - No Mans Land (Oklahoma Panhandle)…
Joe’s favorite saying was, “Scuse me huh, we are just Slapout.”
According to the History Beaver County, Vol. II, pg 242-244, the smalltown of Nye began serving the community September 6, 1932 from a couple of old frame buildings that were moved to a plowed field beside a dusty road where the Lemmons family began selling groceries, buying cream and selling gas in five gallon cans after he acquired a fifty-five gallon barrel for a gas storage space.
Click the photo to see larger view…
Thomas L. Lemmons was founder of the town and had rented the land on the south side of the road in southeastern Beaver county (NW corner of S25-2-27) from Joseph L. Johnston.
It goes on to tell how that same year the state department contracted the road building of highway 270, which
would be a sand and gravel road.
I like the story where Tom’s sister, Artie Lemmons, helped in the grocery store. When an item was sold out, she’d usually say, “We’re slapout of that.” It wasn’t too long afterwards that the highway crew began dubbing the town Slapout and everyone, except Tom, started calling it Slapout.
In 1933… Tom moved his building across the road to the SE corner of S24-2-27. This was the same time that he and Joe Johnston bought the only building standing in South Ivanhoe, the Baptist Church. They demolished the building, and the two men moved the old lumber by wagon to Nye (or Slapout). Tom used his half of the lumber to build a one room house for himself and a blacksmith shop that was operated by Harlan Black and John Reagan.
Joe built a grocery store with his half of the lumber on his land and moved in a chicken coop which was in use as a gas station. He named the place Slapout.
Tom didn’t want Nye called Slapout, so he put a sign over his store entrance which read Nye Mercantile. When someone stopped on his side of the road and asked for SlapoutNye, can I do something for you?”
Both stores thrived despite the rivalry between Joe & Tom and Slapout & Nye. Tom & Joe were storekeepers for the community and friends of the people as well, selling on credit, and carrying accounts for long periods. This generous practice was a boon to their customers during the depression — The 1930s.
The history of Beaver County goes on to tell how Tom, in 1939, bought merchandise from several stores that were closing in the neighboring towns of Laverne, Speermore and Logan. How he was able to offer a larger stock for his customers to choose from.
It is told that many ladies in the community were surprised and pleased during WWII when things as nylon hose, pepper and other scarce items were sometimes available at Tom’s. Tom operated an ice station in the days prior to 1949, before electricity came to the area.
In 1944… Tom sold his grocery store to Bill Nosler, but he continued to operate the gas station until the fall of 1960. Tom did not accept the name of Slapout until he sold the store. They go on to say, “Slapout was literally the people’s choice.”
Slapout endured the dust storms that plagued the country with the worst occurring in 1935. A tornado ripped through the little town on October 10, 1949. There was damage to most of the buildings and destroying the home of the late Elmer Brown and injuring his wife. The home was rebuilt and buildings were repaired as business continued as usual in Slapout, Oklahoma.
Slapout became a community recreation center in the depression years. Farmers received tiny prices for their products… such as 18-cents a bushel for wheat, 5-cents a dozen for eggs, 4-cents a lb. for hogs, etc. There was hardly enough money for necessities, much less for pleasure. Baseball games at Slapout provided some fun for free.
Many families gathered in later years in the town on the 4th of July to meet with their friends and enjoy the fireworks.
After Joe died in 1950, his son Max operated the store for a year before closing it. Other proprietors through the years include:
Ray Terrell - Grocery store, cafe and gas station in 1932
Herman and Maggie Kamp - Herman ran a repair shop and Maggie bought cream
Johanson - Barber, kept the men looking neat and trim
Jack Nosler - Grocery store
Elmer and Elsie Woolly - Modern grocery store
Ralph Russell - Fed the public in his cafe
Albert H. Hansens - Grocery store
Tom Eades - Home housed Deanna Ondracek’s Beauty Shop
Ed and Marie Sanger - Cafe
Max Hufstetter - Grocery store
Elmer and Lewis Brown - service station
Kenneth Roach - Service station
Lyman Tiffany - Repair shop
Dorsey Jones - Repair shop
Cecil Carrikar - Repair shop
Lottie Charette - Lapidary shop
Milton Messner - Service Station
Fred Kraft - Cafe
Clifford and Esther Fuller - Cafe
H. Neihart - Barber shop
Tom’s son, Frank - operated the service station and there was also a trailer park.
The Druces - operated a cafe at Joe’s old location.
Rex and Alice Hagan - The one grocery store
Emma Jean Zetterberg - owned and operated a beauty shop.
The founder of Nye, Tom Lemmons, retired an enjoyed a hobby he never had time for before… He and his wife Doris took up rock hunting and collected unusual rocks. They also operated the only lapidary in Slapout when this history was written.
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Photo was taken February 25, 2001 at the southwest entrance to Warwick, north off of Route 66. 
The Warwick School building was used as a community building and cared for by the Warwick Community Club, approved by the Wellston School Board.
In 1940… Warwick School District #138 was built by the WPA (Workman’s Progress Administration). While it was being built the students went to the Methodist church just east of the school ground. The custodian, Golda Pinkston, put the finish on the floors of the two-room school before desks and students moved in.
