counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
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 ...
. Day County was in the western part of the territory, along the
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
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 parcel of land south of the Oklahoma–Kansas border between 96th meridian west, 96 and 100th meridian west, 100°W. The Che ...
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 re-established at Grand.
The county commissioners voted to move the seat to
Grand, Oklahoma
Grand is a ghost town in Ellis County, Oklahoma, United States. It served as the county seat of Day County and then of Ellis County until the seat moved to Arnett in 1908.
History
Today's community of Grand was the one-time county seat of E ...
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, many charges were made 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.
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
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England
**County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States
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Places
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Roll
Roll may refer to:
Physics and engineering
* Rolling, a motion of two objects with respect to each-other such that the two stay in contact without sliding
* Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff bo ...