Volume 10 , Issue 20

Knowles (Sands City), Beaver Co., OK

Knowles (Sands City), was located in Beaver County, Sec. 25-5N-26E, Cimarron Meridian, 4 miles north, 17-1/2 miles east of Beaver, Oklahoma. The post office began March 16, 1907. The Newspaper was the Farmers News and the railroad was the Wichita Falls & Northwestern railway (Katy), abandoned 1972.

Knowles moved its location and changed its name, like many other towns in Oklahoma. It incorporated as Sands City in 1906, it moved about a half mile eastward in 1912 at the time the Wichita Falls & Northwestern Railroad laid its tracks through eastern Beaver County. The post office, Knowles, was established in Sands City before the founding of Knowles.

The new city of Knowles soon became a trading, marketing, and shipping center for eastern Beaver and western Harper counties.

In 1909 Sands City had nine business establishments. In 1913 Knowles had thirty businesses. In the four-year period the population increased from 25 to 254 persons. In addition to the various stores, the town had a good bank, an excellent grade school and high school system. active churches, and the widely read Farmers News.

Around the town was some of the best farming land in the state. Between September 1, 1928, and September 1, 1929, some 273 train cars of wheat, 43 cars of kafir corn and milo, 18 cars of broomcorn, 49 cars of cattle, 5 cars of hogs, and 14,480 gallons of milk were shipped. Turkeys, chickens, and eggs were sent to market by trucks. Most farms had small orchards, and all had gardens. Knowles was a growing agricultural center.

The 1930s changed all that. The depression ruined many farmers economically, and during the Dust Bowl period many saw their farms blown away. A long period of below average rainfall, dry topsoil, and strong winds dominated the weather of the mid-1930s just as it did other small farm towns in Oklahoma.

The most severe dust storm in the area started on sunday, April 14, 1935. On that date a reddish brown cloud moved over Knowles from the northwest. It was a large dust cloud carried eastward by a slowly advancing cold front. Light from the sun was blotted out, and visibility was reduced to a few feet. Even though houses were shut as tight as possible, and wet cloths were wedged around windows and doors, the fine silt covered furniture and floors. The storm continued the following day. Stores were closed, school was canceled, driving ceased, and meetings were postponed. Those who had to go outside wore masks to protect their mouth and nose and goggles to protect their eyes.

When the wind was not strong, such a storm could last two or three days. If the wind was strong the storm would move on quickly but often would have the effect of a sand blaster on a painted building or car. In the mid-1950s such dust storms again developed.

The town of Knowles struggled for existnece, bgut that struggle appeared to be a losing cause. So many people had moved from teh community that the schools were closed, railroad had been abandoned and the tracks removed, and only on grocery store and the post office continued to operate. US Highway 64 borders the eastern edge of the town, and cars sped by to larger towns and cities. Knowles was a victim of farm consolidation and the return to ranching, advancing agricultural technology, improved highway transportation, and the weather. The town was almost surrounded by a single ranch.
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