history of my home town
history of Bixby
The Midland Valley Railroad built the Bixby Depot in 1904.
This parade entry was a crowd pleaser at the 1970 Green Corn Festival Parade
the beginnings of bixby
Bixby became a government town site with a Post Office in 1899. Located in the Creek Nation in Indian Territory, Bixby was named in honor of Tams Bixby, a chairman of the Dawes Commission. Contrary to some popular assumptions, Mr. Bixby never resided in the town of Bixby.
Many settlers were attracted to the area by the rich, though sometimes swampy, river bottom land. In 1904, the Midland Valley Railroad laid tracks through the area, built a depot, and opened a new 40-acre addition next to the original town site. It created factions that briefly split Bixby into two towns. The new part was deliberately surveyed so the new streets did not align with the existing streets. Eventually, the older businesses moved to the new business district near the railroad depot. The disagreement was settled, but the streets between the two additions still do not match up.
bixby becomes official in 1906
Bixbys population grew, and in 1906 it incorporated as a self-governing, independent town. The first mayor, recorder, and five aldermen were elected in February, 1907. All the candidates and voters were men; womens suffrage was not recognized in Indian Territory in 1907. By 1908, a two-story, brick school house was built on Main Street. The new school was located in the towns original business district. Bixbys Central Elementary is now near that brick school house site.
longest bridge west of the mississippi river
A traffic bridge was built over the Arkansas River just outside the town in 1911. It was said to have been the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River. In 1921, the bridge would be critical in the routing of the Albert Pike Highway (now U.S. Highway 64) between Muskogee and Tulsa. The Cotton Belt Highway was later built through Bixby in the 1930s. With two highways and a railroad, Bixby had an excellent transportation system
oil boom of 1913
Bixby was built on the strength of rich farm lands, and agriculture had a major economic impact on the area. There had been some oil activity, but in 1913 a 1,000- barrel-a-day oil well was drilled south of the town. The oil boom that followed boosted the economy for many years.
the garden spot of oklahoma
During the late 1930s, truck farming of vegetables replaced many of the cotton, wheat, and alfalfa fields. By 1941, Bixby became one of the major national shipping centers for produce. It became nationally known as The Garden Spot of Oklahoma, shipping cantaloupes, potatoes, radishes, squash, turnips, spinach and sweet corn all over the country. Many of the truck farms have become sod farms or housing additions, and the majority of people living in Bixby work in Tulsa. But the days of Bixbys earlier agricultural heritage are still celebrated during the Green Corn Festival held at the end of June of each year in Old Town Bixby.
The Midland Valley Railroad built the Bixby Depot in 1904.
This parade entry was a crowd pleaser at the 1970 Green Corn Festival Parade
the beginnings of bixby
Bixby became a government town site with a Post Office in 1899. Located in the Creek Nation in Indian Territory, Bixby was named in honor of Tams Bixby, a chairman of the Dawes Commission. Contrary to some popular assumptions, Mr. Bixby never resided in the town of Bixby.
Many settlers were attracted to the area by the rich, though sometimes swampy, river bottom land. In 1904, the Midland Valley Railroad laid tracks through the area, built a depot, and opened a new 40-acre addition next to the original town site. It created factions that briefly split Bixby into two towns. The new part was deliberately surveyed so the new streets did not align with the existing streets. Eventually, the older businesses moved to the new business district near the railroad depot. The disagreement was settled, but the streets between the two additions still do not match up.
bixby becomes official in 1906
Bixbys population grew, and in 1906 it incorporated as a self-governing, independent town. The first mayor, recorder, and five aldermen were elected in February, 1907. All the candidates and voters were men; womens suffrage was not recognized in Indian Territory in 1907. By 1908, a two-story, brick school house was built on Main Street. The new school was located in the towns original business district. Bixbys Central Elementary is now near that brick school house site.
longest bridge west of the mississippi river
A traffic bridge was built over the Arkansas River just outside the town in 1911. It was said to have been the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River. In 1921, the bridge would be critical in the routing of the Albert Pike Highway (now U.S. Highway 64) between Muskogee and Tulsa. The Cotton Belt Highway was later built through Bixby in the 1930s. With two highways and a railroad, Bixby had an excellent transportation system
oil boom of 1913
Bixby was built on the strength of rich farm lands, and agriculture had a major economic impact on the area. There had been some oil activity, but in 1913 a 1,000- barrel-a-day oil well was drilled south of the town. The oil boom that followed boosted the economy for many years.
the garden spot of oklahoma
During the late 1930s, truck farming of vegetables replaced many of the cotton, wheat, and alfalfa fields. By 1941, Bixby became one of the major national shipping centers for produce. It became nationally known as The Garden Spot of Oklahoma, shipping cantaloupes, potatoes, radishes, squash, turnips, spinach and sweet corn all over the country. Many of the truck farms have become sod farms or housing additions, and the majority of people living in Bixby work in Tulsa. But the days of Bixbys earlier agricultural heritage are still celebrated during the Green Corn Festival held at the end of June of each year in Old Town Bixby.
posted by onlyhuman79 at 7:52 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for sharing your information about Bixby. I appreciate it. There are a couple of corrections if you will permit me to make them:
Re: "the beginning of Bixby," first line, "Bixby became a government town site with a Post office in 1899."
Legislation allowing the federal government to establish townships was passed in 1902.
According to the plat map of Bixby town site, the town site was platted in Nov. 1902. However, Bixby Township was not incorporated until Dec. 1, 1906.
The date, 1899, refers to a post office established that year a few miles east of Bixby and a short distance west of present-day Leonard OK. That post office was later moved to Bixby and renamed.
Re: "the garden spot of Oklahoma" last line, "Old Town Bixby."
The center of Old Town Bixby was an area west of the present-day Bixby High School on Riverview. Only one building from that era still remains, Montgomery Station,located on the west side of Riverview and across the street from the public schools complex.
A couple of years ago, Historic Downtown Bixby was referred to as Old Town in a Green Corn Festival public announcement by a civic group leader who had no knowledge of the history of Bixby. He, since, is aware of the difference between Old Town Bixby and Historic Downtown Bixby.
Documentation about the above is available at Bixby Historical Society. I appreciate you allowing me to comment.
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