Driftwood, Oklahoma

Driftwood
Unincorporated community
Driftwood

Location within the state of Oklahoma

Coordinates: 36°52′45″N 98°21′34″W / 36.87917°N 98.35944°W / 36.87917; -98.35944Coordinates: 36°52′45″N 98°21′34″W / 36.87917°N 98.35944°W / 36.87917; -98.35944
Country United States
State Oklahoma
County Alfalfa
Government
 • Type unincorporated (part of Stella township)
Elevation 1,191[1] ft (363 m)
Population (1990)
 • Total 27
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 73728
Area code(s) 580
GNIS feature ID 1092189[1]

Driftwood is a small unincorporated community in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, United States. A once prosperous rural community, it had at one time two churches, a store, gas station, grain elevator, 2-story school, a telephone office, and post office. Today, it is made up of less than a dozen residences and a church with a cemetery grouped along both sides of Oklahoma SH-8/SH-58.

History

Prior to statehood in 1907, all the lands of what was to one day become Alfalfa County were part of the Cherokee Outlet under the control of the Cherokee Nation. A prominent rancher, Major Andrew Drumm, leased grazing lands from the Cherokee in the 1870s and 1880s at a location between the Salt Fork and Medicine, or Medicine Lodge rivers, from which he operated his 150,000 acre U Ranch. Starting in 1874, the U Ranch headquarters was located a few miles north of present-day Cherokee, just southeast of Driftwood.[2][3]

Driftwood was incorporated in 1898.[3] The town name "Driftwood" was taken from nearby Driftwood Creek, which empties into the Medicine Lodge River. The Driftwood post office was established May 12, 1894 and closed October 31, 1959.[4] In the 1960s, Driftwood, Burlington, Byron, and Amorita schools consolidated into the Burlington School District located in nearby Burlington.[5][6] The town's population peaked in 1930 with 71 inhabitants. However, after the abandoning of its rail line, the declining population made it difficult to sustain educational and city services and by 1980, Driftwood was no longer incorporated.[3] Its population was listed at 27 in the 1990 census.[7]

Geography

Driftwood is located in north-central Alfalfa County straddling Oklahoma State Highway 8/State Highway 58. It is 8 miles (13 km) straight north of Cherokee on combined State Highways 8 and 58 and roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of the course of the Medicine Lodge River.[7]

The U.S. Geological Survey cites Driftwood's latitude as 36°52′45″N (36.8791951) and its longitude as 98°21′34″W (-98.3595173) with an elevation of 1191 feet.[1]

Other links

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Feature Detail Report for: Driftwood". Geographic Names Information System(GNIS). United States Geological Survey. December 18, 1979. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Oklahoma’s past – The U Ranch site". Oklahoma Archeological Survey. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Alfalfa County. Oklahoma History Center. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  4. ↑ Shirk, George H. (March 15, 1987). Oklahoma Place Names (First Paperback, 1987 ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-8061-2028-2.
  5. ↑ Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Amorita. Oklahoma History Center. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  6. ↑ Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Burlington. Oklahoma History Center. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  7. 1 2 General Highway Map - Alfalfa County, Oklahoma (PDF) (Map) (1992 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning Division.

External links

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