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Slick
Named for Thomas B. Slick, prominent oil producer.
Located 9 miles southeast of Bristow.
Newspaper: Slick Spectator and Times
Named for Tom B. Slick who was known among the oil men as "Mad Tom Slick," "Dry Hole Slick", and "King of the Wildcatters." He was the discoverer of the Cushing Oil Field and numerous other oil pools. The town of Slick had its beginning in 1919 when Tom Slick brought in the discovery well. Within a short time tents and hastily constructed shacks became stores, cafes, pool halls and various kinds of businesses. At the end of three months the town had a population of five thousand. During the early 1920's the town became a production and shipping center. Slick had a business district about one-half mile in length. There were two banks, three hotels, several rooming house, two oil-field supply firms, a cotton gin, gristmill, and numerous other stores. In 1920 the Oklahoma-Southwestern Railway Company laid its tracks from Bristow to Slick, extending the line to Nuyaka by 1921. A large depot was built to handle the crowds that flocked to Slick to "get rich from the gushing black gold." Roads and streets were mud or dust, depending on the weather. By 1930 the population had decreased to fewer than five hundred, some stores had been destroyed by fire, and others had closed for lack of business. The railroad was abandoned in 1930. John W. Morris, Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, c1965).
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