Day County was one of the original

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

. Day County was in the western part of the territory, along the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

border. When it was originally established in 1890, it was known as E County (several Oklahoma counties carried only letter designations at the time). It was later named for Charles Day, the contractor who built the first courthouse in the county seat, the now-defunct town of Ioland, Oklahoma.

History

Before the creation of Oklahoma Territory, the land that would become known as County E was simply that part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation bounded on the north by the

Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet wa ...

and Roger Mills County.

County seat controversy

The community of Ioland was named as the temporary county seat when County E was first established in 1890, but this location proved unsatisfactory for several reasons. First, the water tasted bad, and no better source was available. Second, Ioland was not a convenient location for the majority of county residents, who lived on the other side of the Canadian River. Third, the temporary courthouse at Ioland mysteriously burned down during the night of November 12, 1893. The day after the fire, the three county commissioners ordered that the county seat be reestablished at Grand. The county commissioners voted to move the seat to

Grand, Oklahoma Today's community of Grand was the one-time county seat of Ellis County, Oklahoma. First established as ''Ioland'' to be the county seat of "E" County (later Day County). When the Cheyenne Arapaho reserve was opened, it was moved across the Canad ...

, along the banks of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Everett, Dianna. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Day County."
Retrieved September 20, 2013.

"Free Grass" ''vs''. "Herd Law"

The burning political issue in Day County was the question whether land should be free-range (i. e., unfenced) or whether the movement of cattle should be restricted. Most of the large cattle ranches had started when the land was still controlled by Texas. However, Texas law did not apply when the U. S. created Oklahoma Territory (thus giving rise to Day County). Most of the settlers who moved in during the territorial days were small farmers. Initially, the cattlemen had the political advantage. If a farmer found that free-range cattle had eaten his crops, he had no recourse to be compensated for his loss. As a result, there were many charge by cattlemen that some farmers had put poison in the waters where cattle drank. The ''Arapaho Bee'' reported on May 17, 1901 that a posse of cattlemen lynched a resident of Ioland, after he had been accused of poisoning roaming cattle."Welcome To Old Day County, Oklahoma Territory." USGenWeb.
February 27, 2016. Accessed August 28, 2016.

Dissolution of county

When Oklahoma was granted statehood, effective November 16, 1907, Day County was abolished and several county lines were redrawn. Among the changes were Day County being split along the Canadian River. The section of the county north of the river became part of Ellis County, while the area south of the river is now northern Roger Mills County. Also, a narrow strip of land in the northeast of the old county now falls within the boundaries of Woodward County. Grand, now a defunct town, served as county seat of Ellis County until a 1908 election moved that function to the town of Arnett. Grand's townsite is south of Arnett. Most of the inhabitants moved away by 1914. No remains are visible at the townsite.C. A. Squire, "Old Grand, GhostTown," Chronicles of Oklahoma." Accessed July 2, 2015.
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Geography

Day County encompassed the Antelope Hills, a historical landmark.

Adjoining political entities

* North – Ellis County, O.T. * East – County D, O.T. (later named Dewey County) *Southeast – County G, O.T.(later named Custer County) *South – Roger Mills County, O.T. *West – Texas panhandle

Present-day towns formerly part of Day County

* Arnett * Angora *

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

* Goodwin *

Roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...

Notes

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' – Day County
* http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v028/v028p399.pdf C. A. Squire, "Old Grand, GhostTown," ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''.Vol. 28, No. ] Accessed July 2, 2015. * http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v013/v013p219.html "Old Day County Oklahoma Territory." ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Vol. 13, No. 2, 1935. Accessed July 2, 2015. {{Coord, 36.0, N, 99.7, W, format=dec, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK Former counties of Oklahoma Pre-statehood history of Oklahoma 1892 establishments in Oklahoma Territory 1907 disestablishments in Oklahoma