Driftwood is a small
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in northern
Alfalfa County,
Oklahoma, United States. A formerly prosperous small rural community, at one time it had two churches, a grocery store, barber shop, gas station with repair shop, grain elevator, two-story school, a telephone office, bank, and post office. Currently, it is made up of less than a dozen residences - along with a church and cemetery - grouped along both sides of
Oklahoma State Highway 8
State Highway 8, also abbreviated as SH-8 or OK-8, is a highway maintained by the United States, U.S. state of Oklahoma. Because it runs mainly north–south, it has an even number (which is normal for Oklahoma state highways, but opposite ...
/
State Highway 58.
History
Prior to statehood in 1907, all the lands of what was to one day become Alfalfa County were part of 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 ...
under the control of the
Cherokee Nation. A prominent rancher, Major Andrew Drumm, leased grazing lands from the Cherokee in the 1870s and 1880s at a location between the
Salt Fork and
Medicine, or Medicine Lodge rivers, from which he operated his U Ranch. Starting in 1874, the U Ranch headquarters was located a few miles north of present-day
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
, just southeast of Driftwood.
The town of Driftwood was officially incorporated in 1898.
(However, a footnote to the 1930
U.S. Census states that the town was "incorporated from part of Driftwood township in 1924.")
The name "Driftwood" was taken from nearby Driftwood Creek, which empties into the Medicine Lodge River.
Driftwood's post office was established May 12, 1894. From 1902 to 1906, this post office also served nearby
Burlington (then known as Drumm).
[
In 1901, a stage line was established connecting nearby ]Kiowa, Kansas
Kiowa is a city in Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 902. It is located 1 mile north of the Kansas / Oklahoma state border.
History
19th century
Kiowa was founded in 1872. It was na ...
with Alfalfa county towns, including Burlington, Driftwood, Cherokee, Yewed, and Augusta. The county's first railroad, the Choctaw Northern railway (later owned by the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific[), connected Driftwood to the other Alfalfa county towns of Aline, Augusta, Lambert, ]Ingersoll Ingersoll may refer to:
People
*Ingersoll (surname)
*Ingersoll Lockwood (1841–1918), American lawyer and writer
Places Canada
* Ingersoll, Ontario
United States
* Ingersoll, Oklahoma
* Ingersoll, Wisconsin
* Ingersoll Township, Michigan
* ...
, Amorita, and then continued on into Kansas.
The little town's population would peak in 1930 with 71 inhabitants.[
The railroad line through Driftwood and its neighboring towns was abandoned in 1936.][ The town's post office was closed on October 31, 1959.][ Its population was listed as 32 in 1963.] In the 1960s, the local schools from the towns of Driftwood, Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, Amorita, and Burlington were all consolidated into the Burlington School District located in nearby Burlington. After the abandoning of its only rail line, the declining population had made it increasingly difficult to sustain educational and city services so that by 1980, Driftwood was no longer incorporated. By the 1990 census, its population had dwindled to just 27 persons.
Geography
Driftwood is located in north-central Alfalfa County straddling Oklahoma State Highway 8
State Highway 8, also abbreviated as SH-8 or OK-8, is a highway maintained by the United States, U.S. state of Oklahoma. Because it runs mainly north–south, it has an even number (which is normal for Oklahoma state highways, but opposite ...
/ State Highway 58, south of the Kansas-Oklahoma line. It is straight north of Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
on combined State Highways 8 and 58 and lies roughly to the west of the course of the Medicine Lodge River.
The U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
cites Driftwood's latitude as 36°52′45″N (36.8791951) and its longitude as 98°21′34″W (-98.3595173) with an elevation of 1191 feet.[
]
Notable people
R. Orin Cornett
R. Orin Cornett (November 13, 1913 – December 7, 2002) was an American physicist, university professor and administrator, and the inventor of a literacy system for the deaf, known as Cued Speech.
Biography
R. ''(Richard)'' Orin Cornett was born ...
(1913 – 2002) was born in Driftwood on November 14, 1913. Cornett earned his doctorate of physics and applied mathematics from the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in 1940 and taught physics, mathematics, and electronics at Oklahoma Baptist, Penn State, and Harvard universities. He was the inventor of the system of communication for the deaf known as Cued Speech
Cued speech is a visual system of communication used with and among deaf or hard-of-hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshapes, known as cues (repre ...
. He also served in education administration as a vice president at Oklahoma Baptist University and in various positions including the Vice President of Long Range Planning for Gallaudet University.
Other links
* Andrew Drumm Institute
The Andrew Drumm Institute was an orphanage for boys near Independence, Missouri. Built on a 370-acre working farm, it provided a means of support and education for disadvantaged boys starting in 1929.
History
Andrew Drumm, the founder of the Dr ...
* List of ghost towns in Oklahoma
This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Oklahoma, United States, United States of America, including abandoned sites.
Classification
Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have ...
References
Further reading
* Cornett, Essie Richardson, ''The Cornett family'', Vantage Press (1971), (https://books.google.com/books?id=s2ZHAAAAMAAJ&dq=driftwood%2C+oklahoma&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=driftwood)
* Halcomb, Nora Caroline Williams, ''Williams history and genealogy'', Medford Print. and Pub. (1946), (https://books.google.com/books?id=JYlbAAAAMAAJ&dq=driftwood%2C+oklahoma&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=driftwood)
* McGlasson, Bob, ''Genealogical and Other Stories on the Ancestors, Patriarchs, Famous and Infamous Characters in the Parental Families of Bob & Willie : McGlasson, Williams, Hullet, Weems'', University of Wisconsin - Madison (1994), (https://books.google.com/books?id=27Y0AAAAMAAJ&q=%22Driftwood,+Oklahoma%22&dq=%22Driftwood,+Oklahoma%22&client=internal-uds&num=8&cd=6&source=uds)
External links
Driftwood Christian Church
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma
Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma