This article is a continuation of a series of articles for Echos Of The Past provided by the Grand River Historical Society www.grandriverhistory.com
STRANG, QUEEN FOR A DAY
A number of towns or communities along the Grand River valley have blossomed then disappeared ….Echo, Needmore, Klaus, Cleora… and several others continue to decline in population, but none originated with the distinction given to Strang in Mayes County.
Named by a railroad official for his daughter, the town beg
an as the scene of an event that attracted more than a thousand people virtually even before it was officially founded. After recovering from the devastation of the Civil War and continuing into the early 1900’s, current citizens and new settlers had farmed and cultivated land in and around the river to the extent that it now produced an abundance of crops and farm animals.
However, one drawback was getting the produce to market. Railhead transportation was available along the “Katy” railroad that wound south from Vinita through Muskogee to Texas and from Joplin through Tulsa or a trunk connection from northwest Arkansas that ended in Grove. The problem was the time it took to transport produce by wagon train from the river valley to those outlets. So, it was with considerable enthusiasm that local residents greeted the news that a new railroad would be built along the Grand River after it reached Wagner and would wind its way to Baxter Springs, Kansas.
On March 28, 1910 a charter was approved for the railroad, eventually named the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway, (MO&G) originating in Denison, Texas. Financing for the project ultimately came from investors in France and Belgium because at the time, it was thought that railroads were the “wave of the future” in the United States and abroad so their construction was very appealing to international financiers.
When it was determined that the railroad would be constructed from two directions, Baxter Springs from the north and Wagner from the south, speculation began regarding where they would meet. Ultimately it was determined that the projected joining of the two segments would probably be somewhere near Lynch’s Prairie in Mayes County. Lynch’s Prairie was located north of Spavinaw across the Grand River and about eight miles southeast of Adair. A general store housed a post office there and later when the actual site for a train station was determined to be about a mile south, both were moved.
Construction on the MO&G began almost immediately from the two terminal points. Development of any railroad project encouraged local speculation and some towns were moved simply to be accessible to better commercial and transportation opportunities. For example, Cleora and Ketchum, towns that were originally established along the Grand River, were moved and new communities like Bernice and Pensacola were founded along the railroad line. But Strang was different because first it was the site of an event, the joining of north-south segments of the railroad in a widely advertised ceremony, the driving of the “Golden Spike.”
The population around Lynch’s Prairie, Spavinaw and Adair had steadily increased after statehood in 1907, spurred by the rich agricultural land and rules that had been somewhat relaxed after it was no longer designated as Indian Territory. So, when it was determined that the building crews would meet on Valentines Day, February 14, 1913 and a special ceremony would occur, word spread like wildfire. Curiosity and favorable weather were factors that drew hundreds, with some estimates over a thousand onlookers to the event. Many had never seen a steam engine and others came just to participate in the celebration.
Thus, the Strang community became “Queen for a Day” literally before it became a town and from that day forward it developed as a bustling farm community. At its peak the town boasted a population of several hundred that supported numerous businesses including two elevators, a hotel, theater, several grocery stores, a lumber yard, drug store and bank. Later, the Strang school district was the first in the county to have a brand new gym, courtesy of the Works Progress Administration, and first to offer school bus transportation to rural students. Population peaked in 1940 with the completion of the Pensacola Dam then slowly diminished. The MO&G, never a profitable venture, met its demise when tracks were removed in 1963 to accommodate the future Lake Hudson and today only the railroad bridge pilings across the Grand River remain as evidence that a railroad ever existed.
Driving through Strang today there is scant reminder of its glory days. The town, like many Oklahoma farm communities, has become a reminder of the past history of Northeast Oklahoma. But, unlike other communities along the Grand River Valley, Strang was born of an event, the day the Golden Spike was driven.
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