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Ingersoll, Oklahoma

Ingersoll - Alfalfa County... Sec. 21/28, T27N, R11W, 2 miles north, 2 miles west of Cherokee. Located on hwy 64. Still has a few loyal residents, a Bar-B-Cue Cafe and a Truck washout. This is a view of the eastside of Ingersol, looking west on highway 64 with the old grain elevators on both sides of the road.

Newspapers... Ingersoll Review; Ingersoll Times; Ingersoll News; Ingersoll Midget.

Railroads... Choctaw Northern Railroad (Rock Island); Denver, Enid and Gulf Rairoad (Santa Fe).

Post Office... September 13, 1901 thru December 31, 1942.

"Ghost Towns of Oklahoma"...

by John W. Morris, "When the Cherokee Outlet was opened for settlement in 1893, many persons of German ancestry migrated to the Ingersoll area. No town was formed until the Choctaw Railroad (Rock Island) reached the site of Ingersoll in the summer of 1901. A townsite was platted and opened for settlement in September of that year. The town was named Ingersoll after the president of the railroad."

Ingersoll was born full-grown and within a month it had an estimated 1000 inhabitants. Stores of all kinds were either in operation or being built, and temporary homes were being replaced by permanent ones. Many businesses reflected the importance of agriculture, especially wheat growing.

There were three churches (1 German church) organized. A two-story brick school building was under construction. The town was declared incorporated by the County Commissioners in January, 1902 because of its rapid growth.

Ingersoll became noted as a "sinful" town... It had seven saloons and two pool halls, and also it was believed by many individuals that the town was named for the famous agnostic Robert Ingersoll. All saloons were closed with the coming of statehood.

At various times there were four newspapers printed in the town... The Ingersoll Times (most important & longest life). The Ingersoll News printed only one issue, then combined with another paper. The other two newspapers were The Ingersoll Review and The Ingersoll Midget.

After Statehood...

This photo to the left was taken August 17th, 2000, on the westside of Ingersol, along highway 64. The sign reads, "Ingersol, next 4 exits." (Click on photo to view larger picture.)

Ingersoll contested Cherokee for the location of the county seat. Four towns were voted on in the January, 1909, election, with Ingersoll running third behind Cherokee and Carmen but ahead of Jet.

At that time Ingersoll had four eleveators, four general stores, two barber shops, two livery stables, two restaurants, and two banks in addition to a hardware store, a lumberyard, a drugstore, a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a telephone exchange, a billiard hall, a meat market, a coal dealer, a shoemaker, an agricultural implement dealer, a weekly newspaper, and a corncob pipe manufacturing company.

Population was estimated at about 375. After losing its bid for the county seat, Ingersoll started to decline and has continued to do so. Many business buildings have been torn down or have burned down. Wide sidewalks of yesteryear are buckled by tree growth, covered by dirt, and encircled by weeds. One former business block is fenced and used as a pen for sheep or cattle. The elevators are out of business and the schools are closed. Highway US 64 runs through the town and there was once a bus stop at a very small grocery store-filling station combination.

Today you might be able to catch a great Bar-B-Cue Meal at a local cafe on the south side of US 64 highway in the middle of Ingersoll.

Click on each picture individually to get a larger view of Ingersol's pictures.