Volume 15 , Issue 5

NW Okie's Corner

This week we bring you more of the 2002 OkieLegacy archives, Vol. IV, to add to our OkieLegacy database with information concerning Lookout, Oklahoma, Day Creek School District 24 and Alva National Bank of Alva, Oklahoma.

Old Lookout, NW Oklahoma

I was reading in the "History of Northwest Oklahoma" about some interesting little tidbits about "Old Lookout & Day Creek School District #24." We find that Mr. Kent built a store in 1902 and named the community "Lookout" (1-mile east of the Day Creek school). In 1905, the postoffice was established with Mr. Kent as postmaster. Other postmasters were: McCue, Jackson, Wares, Patton, Marsel, Sullen, Ferguson, Mitcul, Doty, Neckisch, Brate, Morrow.

Lookout had a blacksmith shop with Mr. Hayes as the smith. Old Lookout was located 40 miles from Coldwater, Kansas and 18 miles from Freedom in Northwest Oklahoma Territory. Some of the mail carriers for that area around Lookout were: Sam Evert, A. M. Woodard, Ed Jenkins, John Swartz, August Neckirch, James Wardrop, Almer Davison, James Schroeder, and Herman Fuller.

Day Creek School Dist. 24

About a mile and a half west of the community of Lookout was the Day Creek School (District 24). It was first held in a dugout with 1 window and door on east side and half mile northwest where the school is now. The school was held three months in the dugout until Hayes, Dick and George Hackney built the new schoolhouse. It was one of the first schools to be built in Woods County. It was named for the creek that ran south of the schoolhouse.

Alva National Bank, January 11, 1904

This little tidbit was found in the "History of Northwest Oklahoma" book, and reads as follows: "Washington, January 11, (1904) -- The comptroller of the currency received a telegram stating that the Alva National Bank of Alva, Oklahoma, did not open for business Saturday morning."

I dug out one of my other northwest history books of Oklahoma to find out more about Alva National Bank to see where exactly it was located in downtown Alva. Its location was on the northwest corner of College Avenue (6th Street) & Flynn Avenue. Alva National Bank was established and built in 1899 with the front corner part of the bank building measuring 75-feet by 20-feet. The bank was bought between 1907 and 1913 by the Alva Security Bank with George A. Harbaugh, President.

It was during the first week of September, 1913, that a deal was consummated with the Alva Security Bank, G. A. Harbaugh, E. Anderson, T. F. Fennessey, and H. E. Noble had purchased the Alva Security Bank and organizing a new banking institution known as "Central State Bank" conducting business in the same establishment as occupied by the Alva Security Bank. It stands on that same corner today taking up maybe a half block square on the northwest corner of Flynn & College Ave.

On October 31, 1917, the bank absorbed the Woods County Union Bank with Mr. Harbaugh and Mr. George S. Meade controlling the interests of stock in the Union bank at that time.

In January 1919 Mr. W. D. Myers purchased a large interest in the bank and by March 1922 he was president when the bank was converted to a national bank. April 9, 1932, it was announced that the Dacoma Bank merged with the Central National Bank and the Bank of Dacoma was in good financial condition.

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