Origins of Grandfield, OK

I've mentioned the Big Pasture Writers' Colony previously.  Big Pasture is a historic area of land north of us here in Wichita Falls on the Oklahoma side of the Red River.  I had loaned my boss my copy of Jack Abernathy's great memoir of life on the North Texas/SW Oklahoma plains in the early 20th century, Catch 'em Alive Jack.  The Big Pasture area figures in it a lot.  Not a lot of people really know what the Big Pasture is, including me, so I looked into it.

Well, Big Pasture has an interesting history involving Quanah Parker and the Comanche and Kiowa nations, the Oklahoma land run, Jack Abernathy, Teddy Roosevelt, and Oklahoma statehood, among other things.  I have not really dug into historical resources all that much on the matter (yet), but I can point the reader to brief and informative entries at Wikipedia and at the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture.  Of course, EOHC is probably more authoritative, but Wikipedia, as usual, contains links to more useful documents.

Such is the case here, as the Wikipedia entry contains a link to a 1957 article from Chronicles of Oklahoma, the scholarly journal of the Oklahoma Historical Society.  This article contains several gems, but I'll just quote one colorful anecdote near the end, which relates the origins of the town of Grandfield, situated in the Big Prairie (Grandfield...grand field...big pasture...get it?):

"Randlett and Eschiti, actually, were the only government townsites which thrived [after Big Pasture was opened for settlement in 1906]. Randlett soon was a growing community and at one time had a population around 1,800, two newspapers and two banks. Eschiti also enjoyed a brief spurt of activity until the railroad, (now MKT line) put through about a mile south of the townsite. The railroad set up another townsite called Kell, after president of the line [presumably Frank Kell of Wichita Falls fame], two miles to the west. For a time a bitter rivalry beween the two towns was nourished. Eschiti was recognized by the government and held the post office; Kell citizens, not to be outdone, one night stole the small frame post office building from Eschiti and moved it to the Kell townsite. Troops from Fort Sill helped reclaim the post office for Eschiti but only briefly. The two towns soon combined to form the present Grandfield."

When will Wichita Falls have its own children's museum?

Having lived here nearly five years, I am amazed that Wichita Falls does not have its own children's museum.  Considering the dearth of activities for kids - especially younger children - and the extreme weather that often makes it difficult to get outdoors, it seems to me that a good children's museum would fill a great need here in the area.

Halsell, TX

My family and I visited Lake Arrowhead State Park for the first time today.  Being at the mercy of a toddler's napping schedule, we missed out on the local Master Naturalists "First Hike" event at the park, but we still walked the Dragonfly Trail.  Our three-year-old son really enjoyed finding the numbers on posts associated with the items on the interpretive trail.  We also stopped by the lake, with waters below 30% due to the ongoing drought - depressing - and I was surprised to find oysters caught on dry land by the receding waters.

In preparation for our visit, I researched the history of Lake Arrowhead a bit.  I was excited to find that the waters cover an abandoned town - Halsell, TX.  This isn't a surprise, really, since many artificial lakes contain submerged communities.  This town, though, possesses surprising connections to some of the great cultural treasures of the states of Texas and Oklahoma.  More on this later.  In the meantime, please read this illuminating account of Halsell from the Clay County 1890 Jail Museum.