Today's community of Grand was the one-time county seat of
Ellis County, Oklahoma
Ellis County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,151, making it the fifth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Arnett.
The county was named for ...
. 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
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 .Shirk, George H. ''Oklahoma Place Names''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. Accessed March 1, 2020.
When Day County was extinguished at statehood, Grand found itself in Ellis County, and was the county seat until August 26, 1908. The Ellis County courthouse moved to Arnett. The Grand post office existed from November 4, 1892, until September 30, 1943. Only the footings of the courthouse and the vault that once held the Day county records remain visible at the site.
Grand contained a cemetery and a post office; the cemetery is located at .
Grand was the birthplace of western musician
Spade Cooley
Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American convicted murderer and former Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. In 1961 he was arrested and convicted for the Ap ...
in 1910.
The site was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
* http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v028/v028p399.pdf C. A. Squire, "Old Grand, GhostTown," Chronicles of Oklahoma." Accessed July 2, 2015.