Cotton County Oklahoma Trails To The Past

	1912

Help Wanted
Oklahoma Trails has several counties and projects up for adoption. If you would be interested in adopting a county or project look at the Oklahoma Trails. If you find one that you would like to adopt e-mail the State Administrator or Assistant State Administrator. [ Being a County or State Administrator is fun and rewarding. If you have an interest in the history of Oklahoma and the genealogy of it's residents please consider it. If you think "there is no way I can do this" there are many people ready, willing and able to help you. It's not near as difficult as you might think. ]
History
In 1855 a Choctaw-Chickasaw agreement held that they would lease a part of their land, to the United States for the Wichita and other Plains tribes. After the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty the area became part of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation. Cotton County's eastern portion opened to non-Indian settlement in the 1901 Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Opening, which distributed land by a lottery system. In 1906 settlers claimed the remainder of the county's land when the Big Pasture, grazing land reserved for Kiowa-Comanche and Wichita-Caddo livestock (with many acres leased to white ranchers), became available through a sealed bid process. After the lands opened, the present area of Cotton County was part of Comanche County. In 1910 area residents tried to form a smaller county, to be called Cache, but the proposed election was ruled illegal. In 1912 they voted on the idea again and succeeded, choosing the name Cotton, for the district's prevalent crop, from a list of choices. Cotton was the final county created in the Oklahoma. Gov. Lee Cruce assigned Randlett as the temporary county seat until an election could decide on a permanent location for government offices. On November 14 voters designated Walters over a proposed plan that would place a new town, Paris, in the county's center.
Links
Free Records Search at Familysearch Org
Cotton County Cemetery and Funeral Home Listings
Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society
Cotton County Cemetery Listing on Interment Net
Cotton County Cemetery Listing on Find A Grave
Oklahoma Birth Certificates Search for Oklahoma Birth Cetificates and how to order from the Vital Records Office.
State of Oklahoma Genealogy Records Guide Search for death certificates and how to order them from The Vital Records Office
Oklahoma State Archives Dept. of Libraries Third Floor 200 NE 18th St. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 Phone: (405) 522-3579 The Oklahoma State Archives provides an excellent library of genealogy records including: Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Applications, 1915-33, Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Pension Files, 1915-49, U.S. District Land Office Homestead Registers, 1889-1908, Oklahoma Supreme Court Applications to the Bar, 1907-42, Oklahoma Board of Medical Examiners Deceased Files, 1907-86, Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy Deceased Pharmacist Files, 1907-75, and Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners Inactive License Files, 1921-84.
Oklahoma Genealogical Society Library and Archives 2100 N. Lincoln Blvd. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4997 Phone: (405) 522-5225 The Oklahoma Genealogical Society maintains a library and archives that the public is allowed to visit. The Library and Archives contains over 62,000 volumes with emphasis on Oklahoma, Native American, and western history. In addition to these materials -- many of which are rare and out-of-print -- the library also houses a number of special collections.
County Clerk 301 North Broadway St. Walters, OK 73572 Phone (580)875-3029	Court Clerk 301 North Broadway St. Walters, OK 73572 Phone (580)875-3029 Fax (580)875-2452	Cotton County Genealogical Society
Email Lists and Query Boards
Cotton County Mail List on Rootsweb
Cotton County Message Board on Rootsweb
Cotton County Message Board on Genforum
Adjacent Counties

Comanche County \| Stephens County \| Jefferson County \| Tillman County Clay County, Texas \| Wichita County, Texas

1912

Help Wanted

Oklahoma Trails has several counties and projects up for adoption. If you would be interested in adopting a county or project look at the Oklahoma Trails. If you find one that you would like to adopt e-mail the State Administrator or Assistant State Administrator.

[ Being a County or State Administrator is fun and rewarding. If you have an interest in the history of Oklahoma and the genealogy of it's residents please consider it. If you think "there is no way I can do this" there are many people ready, willing and able to help you. It's not near as difficult as you might think. ]

History

In 1855 a Choctaw-Chickasaw agreement held that they would lease a part of their land, to the United States for the Wichita and other Plains tribes. After the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty the area became part of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation. Cotton County's eastern portion opened to non-Indian settlement in the 1901 Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Opening, which distributed land by a lottery system. In 1906 settlers claimed the remainder of the county's land when the Big Pasture, grazing land reserved for Kiowa-Comanche and Wichita-Caddo livestock (with many acres leased to white ranchers), became available through a sealed bid process.
After the lands opened, the present area of Cotton County was part of Comanche County. In 1910 area residents tried to form a smaller county, to be called Cache, but the proposed election was ruled illegal. In 1912 they voted on the idea again and succeeded, choosing the name Cotton, for the district's prevalent crop, from a list of choices. Cotton was the final county created in the Oklahoma. Gov. Lee Cruce assigned Randlett as the temporary county seat until an election could decide on a permanent location for government offices. On November 14 voters designated Walters over a proposed plan that would place a new town, Paris, in the county's center.

Links

Free Records Search at Familysearch Org

Cotton County Cemetery and Funeral Home Listings

Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society

Cotton County Cemetery Listing on Interment Net

Cotton County Cemetery Listing on Find A Grave

Oklahoma Birth Certificates

Search for Oklahoma Birth Cetificates and how to order from the Vital Records Office.

State of Oklahoma Genealogy Records Guide

Search for death certificates and how to order them from The Vital Records Office

Oklahoma State Archives

Dept. of Libraries
Third Floor
200 NE 18th St.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Phone: (405) 522-3579
The Oklahoma State Archives provides an excellent library of genealogy records including: Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Applications, 1915-33, Commissioner of Confederate Pensions Pension Files, 1915-49, U.S. District Land Office Homestead Registers, 1889-1908, Oklahoma Supreme Court Applications to the Bar, 1907-42, Oklahoma Board of Medical Examiners Deceased Files, 1907-86, Oklahoma Board of Pharmacy Deceased Pharmacist Files, 1907-75, and Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners Inactive License Files, 1921-84.

Oklahoma Genealogical Society Library and Archives

2100 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4997
Phone: (405) 522-5225
The Oklahoma Genealogical Society maintains a library and archives that the public is allowed to visit. The Library and Archives contains over 62,000 volumes with emphasis on Oklahoma, Native American, and western history. In addition to these materials -- many of which are rare and out-of-print -- the library also houses a number of special collections.

County Clerk
301 North Broadway St.
Walters, OK 73572
Phone (580)875-3029

Court Clerk
301 North Broadway St.
Walters, OK 73572
Phone (580)875-3029
Fax (580)875-2452

Cotton County Genealogical Society

Email Lists and Query Boards

Cotton County Mail List on Rootsweb

Cotton County Message Board on Rootsweb

Cotton County Message Board on Genforum

Adjacent Counties

Comanche County | Stephens County | Jefferson County | Tillman County
Clay County, Texas | Wichita County, Texas

Last Updated,

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Cotton County