Volume 11 , Issue 21

Quinlan, OK

View Quinlan in a larger map According to John W. Morris' book, Ghost Towns of Oklahoma, page 156, Quinlan is located in Woodward county; Sec. 20-T23N-R17WIM, 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 Railroad was the Southern Kansas Railway (Santa Fe).

Quinlan developed as a supply base and shipping center for cattlemen after the railroad crossed the Cherokee Outlet in 1887.

Before the opening of the Outlet for settlement in 1893, 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. Thus 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, but 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.

Before statehood two and often three saloons were open. 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.

Quinlan maintained itself until the late 1920s. Economic conditions caused many to move from the town. State Highway 15 bypassed the town about two miles to the south. No businesses, except two elevators, remained open. The school closed; one church was used part time; the noted two-story hotel had been torn down; and many homes and buildings had burned and very few replaced.

Much of the wheat land in the area had been returned to pasture. The once prosperous town is now almost deserted, but trains sill whistle at abandoned buildings as they hurry past.
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