Volume 16 , Issue 39

Dropright, Yale & Cushing Oil Fields of Oklahoma

We found out that Dropright, Oklahoma was a little boom camp on the Canadian River that was later named Markham, Creek county, Oklahoma.

A few day before John H. Markham, Jr., brought in his big gusher on the E. Yarhola farm in the north Cushing extension, the oil village of Dropright was compelled to move off the lease, on which it had gradually accumulated by squatters' right. It took about 24 hours to shift it to the new site, a mile away. According to PDF re: Cushing Oil Field, the Cushing filed was located in general area of northwest dip -- the Prairie Plains monocline. The structure of the field was a major anticline folded into a rather complex system of domes and synclines.

Dropright Dome -- was named from the town of Dropright which emerges as a result of activity on the slope of the dome. This anticline extendes from Cimarron River in Sec. 34, T.19N., R.7E., west of southwest to e.1/2 Sec. 17, T.18N., R.7E., where the dome reaches its maximum development. From this point southward to the southeast corner of Sec. 20 it dies out rapidly. The elongated dome is approximately five miles in length and the apex was well toward the south end.

Yale Pool -- This pool is located on a pronounced anticlinal structure. It was opened in 1914 by a well in Sec. 7, T.19N., R.6E., and most production came from a four square mile area lying between Yale and Quay. The wells were of moderate size with a few having an initial production as high as 1,000 barrels per day. There were four producing horizons at average depths of approximately 2,700, 2,900, 3,000 and 3,100 feet respectively. The two upper layers produced only gas with capacities as high as 20,000,000 cubic feet per day. On account of the depth and the comparatively small wells, the Yale pool did not produce the excitement and development that of the Cushing Pool.

Markham Area -- The Markham school and teacherage were significant because they were the only remaining buildings left in the oil boom ghost town of Markham and because of their role in the educational and social history of the Markham community. Built around 1915, the building served as both an elementary and secondary school for the oil field and farming communities in the area. It reached a peak enrollment of approximately 300 students in 1917. The teacherage provided housing for Markham teachers, who numbered as many as a dozen during the heyday of the school.

An intense rivalry developed between the farming population to the west of the school and the oil field families to the east, especially at school functions where athletic and social teams would be pitted against each other. During the q920s, the Markham and Vida Way School Districts were consolidated (Dist. No. 102) under the supervision of the Payne county superintendent of schools. The Markham school closed its doors in the 1940s due to lack of enrollment. The teacher age was in excellent condition, but much of the original school was been destroyed. Aly Speers, owner of both properties, used the remaining part of the school building for storage and as a garage, while he lived in the teacherage.

Markham, Creek County, OK -- Markham is a populated place located in Creek County at latitude 36.061 and longitude -96.608. The elevation is 784 feet. Markham appears on the Oilton U.S. Geological Survey Map.
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