Wister, LeFlore County, OK

Downtown Wister, OK looking north in Leflore County taken probably between 1910 and 1915 from the vantage point of the old railroad tracks. Not seen in this photo is the train station which would was located a couple hundred yards to the right. Notice the dirt roads and the mule drawn wagons in the center of town. The building on the right is the bank that I believe is still in operation. The town changed little over the years in its basic appearance.

This is the old Wister school house where my grandmother started school and where my dad attended I think in his first year around 1929, before the current school located on the hill (not in photo) now stands. My grandmother was born in 1903 which would have her starting school at the age of about 8 if she attended in 1911 when the building was completed. The building no longer exists but I can remember my grandmother pointing to where the old structure used to be which was on what was the north end of town near where the old 'Rock Gas Station' is located now ( I haven't been there in a number of years so the old Rock Station which used to be a garage and gas station may not still be standing).

The old Wister train depot taken probably between 1910 and 1915. It was still in operation where I was young boy in the early to mid 1950's and I can remember catching a train here over to Tahlahina to visit some of my mom's relatives. All that is left now is the foundation and all the tracks have been removed. As a young boy I was always fascinated by the trains that rumbled through town and the ones that stopped at the depot.

Another view of the Wister train depot. Some of the same people seen in the first image are in this image as well. Notice the mail cart on the left and the building in the background on the right. That building I believe is the same building my aunt Mae (my grandfathers sister) and her husband ran a grocery store for many years. A few hundred yards to the right of that building not far from the train tracks was the old Dixie store (no longer standing) where my grandparents ran a drygoods store for old man McClellan. They eventually ran their own dry goods store and moved into a new building that was located on the north end of left side (west side) of the downtown photo. That building was not constructed yet in the downtown photo. My great grandfather started and operated several businesses in Poteau, one of which is still in operation (Bridgmans Furniture), My dad and I about 15 years ago walked over to the old depot foundation and he told me about how there used to be two ticket windows and two waiting rooms, one for white folks and one black folks...as he put it. He said the white folks rooms was somewhat nicer and larger than the other one.