(Fairvalley, OK, USA) --
With so many smaller towns today feeling the extraction of their townsfolk
and their businesses moving to the larger cities, Fairvalley has the
determination and new leadership to defy the status quo and become
a bustling municipality once again.
Fairvalley is located between
Waynoka and Freedom 5 miles west of the intersection of Highway 14
& "The Freedom/Fairvalley Blacktop" and south on an
old country road where a sign, which was created and donated by the
towns new acting Judge, is posted revealing its new location. "A
valley of justice where fairness prevails," commented the Judge.
"Fairvalley is a town
that does not discriminate between Race, Sex, or Species, " as
the new Mayor responded to the recent success of his new town; and
it's citizens are ecstatic and are overjoyed when their new Mayor
makes his frequent public appearances to check on the status of his
constituents. The town is made up three or four people, deer, quail,
turkeys, a few coyotes and other wildlife, but the overwhelming majority
are Cattle just as it was back in the old days.
Fairvalley was settled by
Marion and Mary Clothier of Kansas in 1894 with a single tent as their
first dwelling. They soon moved to a one room cottonwood log cabin
that was built in a valley northeast of the old railroad tracks.
The cattle trail which ran
from Freedom to Hennessey in 1909 that also passed through old Fairvalley.
The cattle trail lead Alph Updegraff to Fairvalley to begin its first
industry of raising livestock. He also built a General Merchandise
Store right next to the trail in Fairvalley.
At the beginning they hauled
their drinking water from the Fairvalley Springs that was owned by
Mr. All and located on Eden land northwest of the old railroad. The
Fairvalley Springs was the greatest asset to the Old Town of Fairvalley.
Mr. All also ran the General Store and the Post Office.
At that time the Clothier's
land supplied the lumber for many of its citizens as well as for the
New Stockyard located near the railway.
The town migrated southeast
to be right next to and south of the Buffalo Northwestern Railway
that replaced the cattle trail around about 1919. Allie Bickford's
family moved and operated the Post Office and General Store in New
Fairvalley.
Linda McGill-Wagner, which
runs WarwickshireWest Publishing, USA, has a genealogy site on the
Internet and is adding a Fairvalley Eagle Newsletter to that site
to publish family histories and to share the histories and old stories
from the Freedom/Fairvalley area. It is located at "http://ParisTimes.com/fairvalley/"
on the web using your ISP and Web browser.
Her Grandmother was Constance
Estella Warwick McGill & Constance's Father was John Robert Warwick.
John R. made the Oklahoma Land Run in September 1893 with his wife
and two children (a daughter and a son) from Coldwater, Kansas
where he had been teaching school. Through John R., Linda and her
sisters have accumulated land in the area of Fairvalley south of the
old non-existent railway tracks and some land northeast of the old
non-existent tracks.
"It is my intention
to use The Fairvalley Eagle as a vehicle to share the History of Fairvalley,
Freedom, and the surrounding areas that were connected by the Buffalo
Northwestern Railroad that ran from Buffalo, Oklahoma to Hennessey,
Oklahoma," Linda commented.
If anyone out there has
any old stories from the Fairvalley and Freedom areas that they would
love to include in The Fairvalley Eagle, you can either Fax them to
her at (405) 879-0704 or if you have access to an E-Mail account on
the Internet, then you can E-MAIL Linda at warwickl@aol.com. She would
really like to hear from you.
If anyone out there reading
this has any information on the Fairvalley Reunion, she is very interested
in connecting with someone to learn more about it.
"You All are in my
thoughts and I extend my Hand of Friendship and Support . . . Because
as my Sister, DoRight, always says, 'Together We Can Do IT! We Can
Make a Difference' and a Connection!" ~ Linda McGill-Wagner
'GodBless and Love to
All
Wishing you all the best that there is to offer. '
