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Nestled among the
rolling hills in the heart of
Oklahoma, Chandler was founded after
the 1891 Land Rush. When almost one million acres of land,
formerly owned
by the
Sac and Fox, Iowa, Pottawatomie and Shawnee
Indian
tribes, was opened for homesteading on September 22, 1891, hundreds of
settlers lined the borders of what was then called County A. At a
signal given by the military, the pioneers rushed to stake their
claims.
The
town site of
Chandler
was surveyed by the government and set aside for public use just six
days after opening of the county. Comprising an area of about
one square mile, the up and coming town was named in honor of
George Chandler, the First Assistant
Secretary of the Interior under President Harrison.
In October,
1891 the first county officials were appointed by the governor. In its first general election held on November 8, 1892, the county
received an official name – Lincoln, and elected its own county
officers. Soon a two-story framed courthouse was built on the
town square. The small settlement quickly grew with several
businesses developing along the main street area including hotels,
several saloons, stores and other establishments.
From its
beginning until the mid-1920’s, the production of cotton and related
activities were the most important sources of income for the citizens
of Chandler. Beginning at the age
six, children learned to pick cotton. Many continued this throughout
their lives. Full attendance at school for older children could not be
expected before mid-November, after the entire cotton crop was
harvested.
A cottonseed
oil factory was located at the end of Allison Avenue and 15th Street
where oil was made from the cottonseeds not used for planting the next
year’s crop. The cotton oil mill sounded a loud whistle twice a day;
at the change of the work shifts. The sharp whistle could be heard
throughout the town, at exactly 12 noon and 12 midnight. For many it
was their only clock.
On March 30, 1897, young
Chandler
would suffer a devastating blow when a tornado completely wiped out
the business area and many of the new homes constructed near it.
Within
a just a few minutes, every building that lay within a four-block-wide
area was leveled. Fourteen people were killed and scores of others
injured.
Chandler's other major source of income was the
growing cattle industry which soon prompted the development of railroads.
The
Oklahoma
City-Sapulpa
branch of the Frisco was the first railroad constructed across Lincoln
County. These 103 miles of railroad were completed in December, 1898.
Other railroads built across parts of the county during the years 1902,
1903 and 1904, including the
Santa Fe,
Rock Island,
Missouri-Kansas-Texas
and Fort Smith-Western.
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