Volume 10 , Issue 19

Quinlan, Woodward Co., OK

If you travel East into Woodward county, you might run into another ghost town that was developed as a supply base and shipping center for cattlemen after the railroad crossed the Cherokee Outlet in 1887.

That Woodward county ghost town was Quinlan, Oklahoma, located in Sec. 20-23N-17WIM, 1-1/2 miles North, 19-1/2 miles East of Woodward. The post office was established April 29, 1901. The newspaper was the Quinlan Mirror. The Southern Kansas Railway (Santa Fe) made whistle stops to the "cow town" of Quinlan, Oklahoma.

Before the opening of the Outlet for settlement, the area around Quinlan had been a part of one of the large leases where cattle were grazed before being shipped to market. After the opening of the Outlet many farmers settled in the vicinity and started growing wheat.

Some of the land was not well suited to this venture because of rough topography -- small ranches were formed by farm consolidation. Land that was suitable for growing wheat was used for that purpose. Quinlan remained a cow town but added elevators to handle wheat shipments.

Quinlan was somewhat isolated and developed a larger commercial core than was usual in frontier farming and ranching regions. In 1907 there were twelve stores in addition to a weekly newspaper, two hotels, two elevators, two livery stables, two lumberyards, a bank, a cotton gin, and a blacksmith shop.

Grain dealers and cattle buyers made Quinlan their headquarters. Two churches and a school were organized. The town had a population of approximately 325 persons. It maintained itself until the late 1920's. Just like today, economic conditions caused many Quinlan residents to move from this small cow town. State Highway 15 bypassed the town about two miles to the south. No businesses, except two elevators, now remain open.

The school closed and one church was used part time. There was a two-story hotel that was torn down, and many homes and buildings have burned, with very few replaced. Much wheat land in the area has been returned to pasture. The once prosperous town is almost deserted, but "trains still whistle at abandoned buildings as they hurry past."
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