This is a story of the conception of Tuttle, Indian Territory, its birth and how it grew.

Will you come with me back to the year 1871, when the first trail blazing herd left Jesse Chisholm’s store at Camp Arbuckle enroute to the railroad in Kansas? Little did we know that just two miles south of the South Canadian River crosing at Silver City would become the thriving community of Tuttle. Under the Dawes Commission this location was near the northwest boundary of the Choctaw-Chickasaw Nation, the land was allotted to the Choctaw-Chickasaw Indians according to the worth of the land.

An infant child of the Colbert family was allotted this land and two enterprising young men, Mr. E. Dowden and a Mr. Perry, bought it from his parents. They platted it for the townsite of Tuttle. The lots sold from $25 to $40, through the Perry-Dowden Land Company. At this time the government had been working with the Frisco Railroad to establish depots through Indian Territory, and were greatly surprised to find the Indian land sold to individuals. A law suit was filed against the land company, and $50,000 was paid Dowden to relinquish the land to the government.

Mrs. Frances William Schrock, a Choctaw Indian, gave the Frisco right-of-way through her allotment for the tracks - to be used as long as the trains came through Tuttle. She owned a two story brick home and an inside bathroom, which was a novelty in that day.

In April 1902 the Frisco Railroad Company finally began its great tracks through the Indian Territory and soon the great "Iron Horse," as the Indians described it, moved from state to state. The first building in Tuttle was the depot which was made of frame and it had a wooden floor. The townspeople were so excited about the structure, they begged the agent, Mr. J. M. (Jack) Ferrell to let them have a square dance. He had to get permission from the company. So when permission was granted, everyone for miles around came for the great event. Jack Sloan was the first section foreman. Setlers who heard about this spot packed up and moved in from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Texas and Arkansas.

A second construction added to Tuttle was the stockyards. It was the second largest in the state and could load out six to eight cars of cattle.

A very prominent cattleman and rancher was Mr. J. H. (Jim) Tuttle, and he could be seen for miles riding on his white horse. The Indians called him a "Squaw Man," which is a white man that is married to an Indian and that has been allotted land. After much discussion, it was decided to name the new town Tuttle after this cattleman.

Now that the town was named, depot built and stockyards completed, the other necessary buildings began to fall into place. The first drygoods and mercantile was built where the present water tower is located. Mr. Louis Meder and family opened this business after arriving here from Iowa. A note of interest were the posts that he brought with him to be used for hitching posts beside his store. In December 1902, a son was born to the Meders, the first baby to be born in Tuttle so they named him Tuttle Meder.

Mr. J. H. and Mary A. Carlisle had the first girl to be born in Tuttle.

There is always something to take the joy out of living for the children. In early 1903 or late 1902, a school was necessary. A one-room frame building was built just off Bond Street, where the old gym is now located. W. J. Hambleton was the teacher. This was a tuition or subscription school, charging $1 per child. The school board was W. Taylor Hambleton (father of J. B. and Russell Hambleton), Mr. Louis Meder (father of Mrs. Wayne Sowers) and Mr. Lonney Conley. This building was used as a community building for all gatherings and for all church services. Ministers of different denominations took turns preaching in the schoolhouse until 1905.

In 1903, Mr. A. J. Davidson opened a drugstore and post office. He later sold to Smith and Sons.

Mr. W. T. Hambleton owned and operated the first lumber yard, which was later sold to Davidson and Case.

Dr. Brown was the first doctor in Tuttle and lived in a home on South Fourth Street.

The Bank of Tuttle was organized by Perry and Dowden in 1903, with a capital of $5,000. A. P. Snelser was the president and the bank was located on Bond Street.

The second bank was formed in 1906, the First National Bank by W. S. Bunting and Wade Duckwall. This bank did not stay in business long.

Just before statehood in 1907, Fred Dennis, Jimmy Wright, Dempsey Wright and Wade Duckwall organized the Oklahoma State Bank.

The Bank of Tuttle was sold to Harve Green, Louis Meder, Thomas Walden and George Hosea with capital of $10,000. After the bank burned, a new two-story building was erected on Tuttle’s present Main Street in 1909. The old vault was a large round one that was damaged enough by the fire that it could not be opened. It was sent the factory by express so the lock cxould be opened. The express charges were so high no one really ever knew the exact amount returned to the bank.

In 1903, the Oklahoma City Mill and Elevator was constructed where the Co-op is located. Mr. Dexter Kramer was manager. The following year the Mell and Cole elevator was constructed on the north side of Mail Street at the present location of the elevator.

The railroad built a long coal building just north of the elevator for the coal type engines had a big wooden water barrel for the steam engines. It is said that the kids used that tank for the old swimming hole until they put a top on it.

The water for Tuttle was drawn from a well, located between the Star Pharmacy and Farm Bureau. On the right side of the wall a long trough was built for the horses to water; on the other side one could draw a pail of water for personal use. Tuttle was rapidly moving to the present day Main Street.

Mrs. Ida Sloan came to Tuttle from Wheatland in 1905 and bought some property for $25 a lot. Mr. Jim Sloan and family moved from Wheatland to Tuttle and opened their store for business in the spring of 1905. The adjoining building was a bakery and confectionery operated by R. W. Fleener.

Wade Duckwall owned and operated the livery stable. The livery had horses and buggies for hire and also feed and stables for the animals. It was also called a sale barn and a place to get general information.

Just west of the present Total convenience store was a two-story hotel, called the Stewart Hotel, owned and operated by R. P. Stewart.

The hotel on Bond Street, just west of Mrs. Jessie Wright, was owned by Andress. Across the street south was VanDyck Hardware. There was also a jail near the same location.

A.B. Alexander built the first cotton gin in 1905 which was a screwtype press.

Tuttle was growing quite rapidly, so in 1906, the town was incorporated and city officials were elected.

A newspaper was printed for the first time in 1905, which was a one-page paper of the Tuttle Times. Some of the publishers were: W. O. Hennings, G. L. Hamrick, Emmitt Graham, Guy Phillips, Pennington, Butler and W. A. Vandament.

A frame building was no longer adequate for the children, so a bond of $7,000 was voted. A two-story brick school was built in 1907. this was a red-letter day for the progress of Tuttle and for the state. On Nov. 16, 1907, Oklahoma was admitted into the Union and Indian Territory was no more.

During the year 1907, the Masonic Lodge was organized. The other fraternal orders were Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and the Grange. The main part of town had moved to the present Main Street. The stores that lined the north side of Main were: Eagle Drug Store, J. B. Sloan General Store, H. S. Henley Hardware, George W. Hogan Store, O. C. Davis Hardware and Post Office, Real Estate Office and Wade Duckwall Livery Stable.

The two big stores on the south side of main were: Jim Meyers Hardware and A. B. Alexander Dry Goods and Grocery. The very necessary shop was the Harness Maker and Shoe Shop.

Disaster came to the north side of Main Street when a fire destroyed the west end of the block. All mail and furniture was saved but the livery and real estate office suffered a great loss. However, it was not long before block and brick structures shot up along West Main.

On Dec. 6, 1910, Floyd and Forrest Kimball bought the Bank of Tuttle with a capital of $25,000. They retired in the early 1960s.

The second drug store was the Palace Drug, located near the west end of Main Street. Wise and Selken were owners and it housed a gift shop, doctor’s office, jewelry shop and the bus stop for years. The original office of Dr. Barker was just north of where the dryer sat in the Cherry Laundry.

At this time the horse was being replaced by motor cars. The first car was driven here from Garden City, Kan. by the West Brothers. Norman Cook thought this two-cylinder Maxwell was just what he needed so the West brothers sold it. Wade Duckwall had the first new car in Tuttle. It was an Aerocar touring car. Besides scaring the horses and children off the streets, he found that his clothes would become quite dirty after a short ride on the dirt roads. Later he got the agency for the Ford.

Mr. J. B. Sloan bought the first Ford in El Reno. Dr. Baxter owned a Maxwell, and most any day you could find him walking to get someone to pull him out of a creek or bog hole. Uncle Jimmy Campbell owned an Oakland. It was said that one could buy gas for nine cents a gallon at the general store. Mr. Sloan had a Bowser Century Pump installed in from of his store.

The Opera House was located upstairs over the old Bank of Tuttle building. The traveling shows put on plays and on Saturday nights would be a silent movie. The first movie was the "Earthquake in San Francisco." Some of the local talent at that time were: Mrs. Rose Glover Crist, Ethel Williams Davis, Mr. Kate Brown Brooks, Athel Williams, Lottie Williams Ray and Norman Cook.

Other entertainment was horse racing, roping and riding bronchos and baseball. There are many tales told of Turner Cochran and Martin Cochran, his brother, also Joe Leonchan, George Wampler, Hosea Waldon, Morris Smith and Dick Brantley. They would try to ride most anything and did. Rodeos were not heard of yet.

The first undertaker was Mr. Jim Morris, who owned and operated a furniture store. They first used wagons for hearses, but later they got a modern horse drawn coach. It was a highly polished black coach with elaborate black fringed curtains and large ornate lanterns. The casket bearers would walk behind the coach all the way to the cemetery. The Silver City Cemetery was not open to everyone and most burials were at the present Fairlawn.

The Eagle Drugstore was going broke, so the Bank of Tuttle took over and sold it to the Lathams. They sold out to Gannaways, who changed the name to the Star Pharmacy. After World War I, Virgil T. Gannaway began working as pharmacist for his father. At this time the drugstore was on the north side of Main Street; later the present Star Pharmacy was built and Dr. Renegar and Mr. Gannaway moved to the south side of Main. Virgil started the slogan, "let Gannaway be your druggist," and he was until his death.

Mr. J. B. Sloan started the AC Electric Light Plant in January 1920. One of the first homes to have electricity was Mrs. R. L. Park. When many of the people got electricity, it began to cut down on the power, so Mr. Sloan finally sold out to Southwestern Light and Power Company who sold to Oklahoma Public Service.

Mr. W. S. Bunting had returned to Tuttle to open another bank. His new bank was called the Farmers State Bank. He sold to Mr. George W. Hogan, who operated until about 1926, then sold to the Bank of Tuttle.

In 1915, three cars and one motorcycle were delivering mail. There were two Model T. Fords, a Kris and a Harley Davison motorcycle.

Mrs. Kate Brooks was a telephone operator while the switchboard was in her folks’ home. Then it was moved upstairs over the Bank of Tuttle. Many years later it was moved to another building.

Another school was needed about 1919 because the Silver City Schoool was to consolidate with Tuttle Public Schools and more room was needed. The brick structure is still in use as the Tuttle Intermediate School. It was badly damaged by a tornado in 1960 but was rebuilt.

At the present time Tuttle is supporting several church of different denominations.

Listed below are a few of the early settlers in the beginning of Tuttle:

Charley Brashear - Merchant

J. L. Hartin - Merchant

J. C. Shipley - Merchant

Alford and Bailey - Merchant

Norman Parker - Hardware

Hosea Waldon - Tax Collector, Postmaster

and Rancher

M. P. Graf - Palace Drug

Dr. A. E. Hennings

Dr. Winborn

Mack Hughes - Harness maker

Ernest Ehlerman - Hardware

Charlie Kettler - Farmer

Bart Gillum - Merchant

Harry Sowers - Merchant and Undertaker

These are just a few that accepted the challenge of a new land and enough courage to leave the present-day town of Tuttle. These people were to be respected and not be forgotten. Everyone should drive out to Silver City Cemetery and Tuttle Cemetery and see the names of the people who founded Tuttle. The least one can do is just stop and think what could have happened to our town. The range they rode was a wide one; may God rest them in their sleep.