History of Welty
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Early County History is Related By Welty Resident
by Mrs. R.W. McKinzie of Welty

In 1893 a group of twelve or fifteen men from around Oklahoma City, including lawyers, merchants, stock men, doctors and carpenters camped one night on Wolf Creek one mile west of the present site of Welty; and decided to locate in the vicinity.

Welty Cemetery

They went to get the contracts fixed up with the Indians, but in 1894 when they were ready to come back and take up possession there were only three families out of that group that came.

JB Wilson, John Jones, and a man by the name of Golden. Golden just stayed six months and went back to his original home.

JB Wilson and John Jones were the only two families in this territory for over a year. They built themselves two little homes about two miles south of Welty. In 1895, JB Wilson's baby, almost one year old, died. He and his brother-in-law were looking around for a suitable place to start a cemetery. This territory had just been surveyed by the government, but there were no section lines and it was all open teritory. They picked out a place they liked and measured from the stake so the grave would be in SE corner of 1-13-8e. At that time this land did not belong to anyone, so they just started a cemetery. A short time later it was allotted to Jennie Fish (an Indian).

In 1899, JB Wilson got a 5 year lease on SE of 12-13-8 from Jennie Fish. He had two years left of the lease but turned it over to Will Rains. During this time the Dunlap Banking Co. Bought this quarter section from Jennie Fish.

One year after JB Wilson's baby was buried, the little Shun baby was burned to death in 1896 and was buried beside the Wilson baby.

The third grave was a man who had died with quick pneumonia in 1897, was buried after night and buried in the alley. The fourth grave was JB Wilson's wife in 1898. The fifth grave was James Welch in 1900.

By 1902 to 1905 there were several buried there. It was all open country. The cattle were tracking over the graves. Mr. Wilson fenced the 40 acres including the cemetry to keep the stock off them.

Soon after statehood, JB Wilson and two or three other men began to try to organize so they could buy the plot of land where the graves were. As Welty had been surveyed and named in 1905, the name of Welty Cemetery also was given to the cemetery when the three acres was bought from Martin and Miller in 1914, then surveyed and laid out in blocks and lots and blue prints made. At first there were only three members: JB Wilson, WR Jones and Will Rains. JB Wilson left this community in 1915.

In 1922 it was re-organized with five members: WR Jones, SL Thornton, GM Reams, SD Smith, and HL Vanderslice.

Not very much had been put on the cemetery so it had grown up in grass and brush.

In 1942, five new members were elected: president JB White; vice president Ben St. Cyr; secretary and treasurer, RW McKinzie and Supt., ST May. A gasoline whirl wind mower was purchased for $200 and with volunteer work the cemetery was put in good shape by mowing, which is made possible by volunteer donations.

Welty

In 1898 JB Wilson built a store on Wolf Creek, one-half mile west of present site of Welty, and established a postoffice, known as the Creek Trading postoffice. JB Wilson was the first postmaster. He held the position from 1897 to 1916. He moved the store in 1899 to the present site of Welty. His store was burned down so he moved the postoffice to his home, and back to the store when he rebuilt.

In 1916 WR Jones was put in as postmaster and kept that position until 1931. Chester McClain had the position about one year, then Dr. Stiles took it and is still postmaster.

This plot of land was the allotment of a colored woman. JB Wilson had it leased. Edwin A. Welty bought the land but agreed to leave out a certain amount and have it surveyed and laid out in a town site. It was surveyed in 1905 and named Welty.

In 1907 JA McKinzie came to JB Wilson just after he had been burned out and asked him if he was going to rebuild. Mr. Wilson said he didn't know yet just what he would do, but for him to go ahead and put in a store if he wanted to. JA McKinzie built a store and a short time later JB Wilson put in another store. Then in three or four years Welty had grown very rapidly. There were several stores and cotton gins. Here is a list of the stores and gins:

      JB Wilson, general store
      JA McKinzie, general store
      Gray & Keener, general store
      Koonce & Son, hardware store
      CH Kingham, hardware
      Rufe Bolin, general store
      Bob Mc Kinzie, store and restaurant
      John White, general store
      WH Williams, general store
      Babe Johnson, general store
      George Wright, cold drinks & ice cream
      Forest Gibson, pool hall
      Stiles, drug store
      Edwards, drug store
      John Hill, general store
      CH Kingham, gin
      Langwell, gin
      Fullbright, gin
      Ray Barber, barber shop

Only people that were in this territory from 1894 to 1900 were JB Wilson, Steve Lester, John Jones, Jack Fish, Sam Spurgeon, Bill Thun, Mr.Golden, John Wilkerson, Bill Knap, Lias Jackson, JA Sellers, Willie Montgomery, Albert Scott, Tom Lee, WR Jones, WM Curry, Brother George and Sister Nancy and John Montgomery.

About 1900 a few children started to school in a old stockade school house one mile west of Welty. This was a prescription school. The parents paid 50 cents per month per pupil to some one that had enough education to teach. There were about four teachers.

First teachers were Richard Montgomery, Tom Wright, WR Jones and Frandma McMaster.

JR Wilson got in touch with the government trying to get a teacher for this territory. The government promised to send a teacher if the people of this community would build a building. So people went together, made up money to buy the lumber and hauled it from Stroud with wagons and teams, put up the building one half mile west of Welty. The first government teacher was Green; second, Lillian Wilkerson; third, Robinson.

In 1909 Griffin was the first teacher paid by the state after statehood. Goldieberg was second. Mrs. Nettie Williams started in Sept. 1912, in the old school house but moved to the new school in November, that had been built near Welty. She taught nine years. It was a two story building. The lower room for school and upper rooms for lodge-hall. In a short time there were over 100 pupils going to school. New seats were bought and the lodge hall was fixed up for a school room and two teachers were hired.

Since then a new two room school house was built at the same place.

In 1900 a bank was organized at Welty with Lee Patterson of Sac and Fox Agency, the president; Parian Carnell, cashier, Edwin A. Welty, member, and to furnish money for the building. There were three different railroads surveyed to go through Welty, one had already strung out the railroad ties part of the way. But someone interfered and got the railroads changed, one through Bristow, one through Okemah, and the one that was coming from Stroud to Okmulgee just stopped. So the Bank was not established.

This page was last updated on 08/11/11

 

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