TRAIN FROM KENTUCKY TO THE CHICKASAW NATION IN INDIAN TERRITORY
by Bud Caudle
| Early in
1905 (some say 1906) at least forty-two families mostly in Morgan and
Magoffin Counties of eastern Kentucky sold their land, packed a few
household items and personal goods, loaded into wagons, and went to the
nearest train station. They chartered the entire train and went west to
Ardmore in the Chickasaw nation of Indian Territory. Before they could
leave, they had to cook up enough food to last their families through the
long journey. It took a week for the train to reach its destination in March
of that year. All available rent lands had already been rented out and most
crops had been planted. It was nearly impossible to find houses to live in.
If a house was found, several families shared. Many lived in tents and
dugouts. A few had relatives who had come to the area earlier and were taken
in by them. Several died in that first year, and during the second year many
of the families scattered throughout Oklahoma. Some settled at Wapanucka in
1907, but a lot of them remained in the Ardmore area around the old Legate
and Hoxbar communities. A few even returned to Kentucky. The families as
named here sometimes include married children and their families. The list
was made from memory by Druzy Blankenship Lowe in 1963, fifty-seven years
after the train trip and when she was eighty years old.
Many names were forgotten, but those known to have come at that time were:
There were more families, but this is all the names we can come up with at this time. If anyone can think of more families in this group, please notify Bud Caudle, 1014 W. Mansur, Guthrie, Oklahoma 734044, or e-mail me at
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