Lake Keystone News (Mannford, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 17, 1982 Page: 4 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Mannford Area Newspapers and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Keystone Crossroads Historical Society.
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When the move was de-
Moving Into
*
The Future
community, our country and our world.
CIMARRON
1
I
TELEPHONE
-+a*
COMPANY
- 995*5
A a "E
Mannford, Oklahoma
k
865-3311
J3..J
Predictions of growth for
the town at the time have
not yet been realized, but
Mannford continues to
grow and prosper.
Residents and city fathers
raised $150,000 to add to
the $600,000 used to build
the modem city hall, sin-
gle level fire station and
escape-proof jail.
payment mortgate insur-
ance.
Each day our world grows smaller, thanks to
steady progress in communication technology
Crossing the once inconquerable barriers of
distance and timie, satellites have brought us
closer together and helped us share ideas
— even whole cultures — as never before.
This sharing of information is the key to
meeting the challenges of the future
Working together, we can develop
. innovative solutions to the problems
that confront us. With an eye on progress
we re striving for better communication
and better understanding of people
and affairs at all levels — our
W ith the celebration of 75
years as a state, it is also a
time to look back and
reflect upon Mannford’s
past.
The town of Mannford
was born before Oklahoma
became a state.
The coming of a railroad,
the old Arkansas Valley
and Western, later taken
over by the Frisco (which
was then abandoned in
1955), caused the settle-
ment around a grocery
store to boom into a thriv-
ing town of about 500
people
The old town was never to
have over 600 residents in
its 58-year history.
The first home in old
Mannford was a log house
built by George Evans on
property owned by W. J.
Mann.
-
Total cost of the relocation
was about $3.5 million,
with the government pro-
viding matching funds and
issuing federal aid in the
form of long-term, low
The townsite became
known as Mann’s Ford
because of a fording place
on the Cimarron River
nearby. The name was later
shortened to Mannford.
“The town really didn’t
begin until the railroad
came in 1902,” T.E. Mann
told the Tulsa W orld back
in 1958. ‘‘The bank came in
1905 and it grew to about
500 people, then just level-
ed off there and hasn’t
done much since.' ’
The town hit its peak
This is all possible be-
cause the citizens of Mann-
ford, or most of them, stuck
together when the time of
decision came. This hasn’t
always been true of other
towns facing the same
problem.”
C. EL Wininger, then
president of the Mannford
State Bank and chairman of
the town’s board of trus-
tees was president of the
New Mannford Corp.
Others on the Corporation
were Clayton Greenwood,
head of the Oklahoma
The first home in old
Mannford was a log house
built by George Evans on
property owned by W.J.
Mann in 1895.
The town was named for
Thomas El Mann, who
owned the townsite as part
of his Creek Indian allot-
ment. T. El Mann, who was
12 years old in 1902, leased
the land the cabin was built
on for $400.
see
gpug253ai g.
e “eg 2,3805 4
-* ,3
Mann’s Ford’ became a prospering community
during the reign of King __________
, Cotton in the 1920’s, and cided it wasn’t possible for
had two gins as its principal a town to move and take its
industry. assets with it. The OU
Old Mannford never had a people drew up a proposed
sewer system, or payment law and the 1959 legisla-
except the highway and a tur passed it.
little blacktop. The munici- The law required a vote by
pal building and firehouse the citizens of the town on
were built in 1909 and an whether the relocation Commission Co., Tulsa
old. fashioned red brick should be made. They vo- Stockyards; B.I. Green-
schoolhouse handled ted in Mannford during wood, rancher LJ Hint-
grades one through 12. June, 1959, on, Mannford Trading Co.
the late thirties According to the Daily grocery; RK HOmes,
that the idea of the Key- Oklahoman, there were 93 hardware- Joe F Trower
stone Reservoir first surf- eligible voters and. 8V president’ of the Cimarron
seed. At that time multiple them went to the polls. The Telephone Co.; Everett and
dams were considered, vote to move was unani- Vernon Brady, of Brady
but te idea was dropped mousiy in favor. Bros oliwei Service
as the country went off to A non-profit corporation Also Forrest Adsit, part-
T - .. u was formed that year to ner,CunninghamandAd-
It.wasin that the handle the move. sit Oil Well Servicing Co.;
Corps of Engineers reap- It was composed of a Earl Varnell grocery J R‛
pearedand approved Key- numherof Mannford area wright, contact driler,
stone Lake. With comple- residents and business- and i R Rhoades nost‛
tion, Mannford would be men. The corporation was mster" ’ Post
under20feet of water. formed because a city can- The first town of Mann-
Completion was slated for not legally deal in real ford “just happened.” To-
1963. « . estate with private individ- day’s version Ls lauded as
Thecitizensgof Mannford uals. one of the best-planned
attha ttime, however, de- The function of New communities in the nation,
cided they.didn .want to annford Incorporated FOllowing is how the Daily
abandon their town to was to acquire land, dedi- Oklahoman of Nov 16
flood waters. cate streets, install sewer 1961 described the new
They moved in the right and water systems for the town-
direction from the start and city, then sell lots to indivi- IImhe new townsit, lain
turned the initial planning duals and businesses who out on a hilsid with td
over to the Center of Urban wanted to move there. miinicina Lli1ding at 416
and Regional Studies, op- First priority was given to top Of the hill na the
erating through a contract residents of Mannford and school and gymnasilm at
with the Oklahoma Univer- Keystone, and then to any- 1, °4msxmnasumat
sityResearh Institute. , one else wh0 was interest- toGnbettom twi sides by
The Mannford residents ed in moving there. the new lake -
give credit for getting the The federal government. It win be"on a fast
project off the ground to which built the dam, paid highway only 22 miles from
the Lions Club, which put property owners in the downtown Tulsa
.first money for a condemned area for their Mannford people see a
feasibility study. losses. The government al- natural growth as a bed
A later contract was so paid the city for its room town for 4s.j who
signed with the Oklahoma losses, such as the streets work in Tulsa but want to
Department of Commerce and its city-owned water My in a smaller town
and Industry on a match- and gas systems. I seems det situated
ing-funds project under This money formed the for a tourist attraction and
which the federal govern- nucleus of the new town’s the titourist off con to
ment put up half the costs. treasury. Profits from the tetemping-off t for
The residents did run into sale of lots also went into Wim rsossnenf mtthe
a few obstacles at the start. the treasury plitanTarea.“ UPa
.This was the train depot in old Mannford. As with country, the coming of the train marked the real
many places hi Oklahoma, as well as across the beginning of life for a town
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Green, John D. Lake Keystone News (Mannford, Okla.), Vol. 23, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 17, 1982, newspaper, November 17, 1982; Mannford, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1946041/m1/4/?q=technical+manual: accessed July 17, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Keystone Crossroads Historical Society.