Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc.

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Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc. Preserving Oklahoma's vanishing history. Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc. documents forgotten communities, shares local stories, and protects historic landmarks.

Our goal is to educate the public and save our state's rich heritage before it fades. Corporate Mission Statement

Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc. is dedicated to preserving, documenting, and honoring the forgotten history and cultural heritage of Oklahoma’s historical settlements. By bridging historical research with active community support, our mission is to ensure that the stories, structures, and legacies of Oklahoma's once-thriving towns are remembered, protected, and leveraged to benefit rural history preservation across the state. Strategic Goals​​

Help to build and maintain accessible digital repositories of historical photographs, land records, oral histories, and mapping data for educators, researchers, and descendants. Sponsor educational programming, school materials, and local history workshops that highlight the economic and cultural shifts in early Oklahoma history. Support for Local Oklahoma Historical Organizations

Provide direct funding to selected museums, historical societies, and county preservation groups operating in rural Oklahoma counties where ghost town sites are located. How We Accomplish Our Goals: The Royalty Funding Model

Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc. operates on a sustainable social-enterprise model in which commercial publishing directly funds public preservation work. Each book published is a collection of the history of a specific county in Oklahoma. Royalties from those paperback sales are donated back to a selected Historical Society office or local museum to help fund programs they maintain that teach local children about their county's history.

10/19/2026

Just in time for the 100-year anniversary of Route 66. Get your copy on the anniversary day - November 11th- on Amazon.

10/19/2026

Just in time for the 100-year anniversary of Route 66.

You never know what you'll find in the woods. An old-timer from Bridgeport told me he used to take people on horseback t...
10/09/2026

You never know what you'll find in the woods.

An old-timer from Bridgeport told me he used to take people on horseback to see the old toll bridge (the 1921 Key Suspension Bridge, where parts of the original Route 66 ran before the Pony Bridge was built) and where the old pillars stood.

His instructions were accurate a long time ago. Today, however, new gravel roads have been built and graded, and they don't look anything like what he described. The treasure hunt begins.

I brought up a map of the area and started looking for the odd road that appeared to head to the river, but abruptly ended. I found where the map said a road should be, but it was just a dumping site locals who couldn't afford to take their garbage to the dump used.

I continued past and noticed an ATV/hunters' trail leading towards where I thought the river should be. At the bend in the road, I also spotted train tracks about 10 yards up and decided I would explore them next.

Chavo (my trusty companion and vicious ankle-biter) headed into the deeply rutted dirt path to explore and hopefully find our treasure. About a 1/2 mile into the trek, Chavo's first time out, we came to an almost dry riverbed. The ATV tracks led out onto the riverbed.

I looked right and spotted a train trestle crossing the riverbed. To the left, I saw what looked like the two pillars the old-timer had mentioned. From what I could tell, they were just about where the dump site was. Since I had my dog with me, I didn't want to risk walking the riverbed, which had standing water in places and lots of mud.

I backtracked and noticed the ATV trail veered toward the train trestle. When I reached the trestle, I knew I had found Western Oklahoma's railway that cut across the Canadian Riverbed.

Here are a couple of images from our exploration. The whole story will be included in the upcoming book, Ghost Towns In Oklahoma - Along Route 66, scheduled for release on November 11th.

PSOThe website now has a Chatbase AI Bot in the lower-right corner where you can ask questions about the content in the ...
10/07/2026

PSO
The website now has a Chatbase AI Bot in the lower-right corner where you can ask questions about the content in the published books.

Ghost Towns In Oklahoma explores the history of Oklahoma, telling the stories of abandoned and historical places.

A little bit from the next book - "Ghost Towns In Oklahoma - Along Route 66" scheduled to be published on November 11.Na...
10/03/2026

A little bit from the next book - "Ghost Towns In Oklahoma - Along Route 66" scheduled to be published on November 11.

Narcissa lies along the "Ribbon Road," the nine-foot-wide paved section of Route 66 completed in the early 1920s. The most notable landmark is the Frank L. Gaines D-X Oil gas station (no longer exists except for the concrete section holding the two front pillars. The shield shown is one of the new shields DOT put up to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Route 66.

It is always exciting to sift through an old filing cabinet and find a new document that changes the commonly accepted s...
09/19/2026

It is always exciting to sift through an old filing cabinet and find a new document that changes the commonly accepted storylines. While going through a filing cabinet in the back of the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer History, I came across a copy of the documents designating Route 66 as a historical highway, signed in 1989. All previous references indicated that Oklahoma designated Route 66 as a historical highway in the 1990s.

Other documents and stories about Route 66 will be part of the next book scheduled for publication on November 11th (the 100th birthday of Route 66).

08/20/2026

Goal: Tell The Stories Of Yesterday For The Children Of Tomorrow.

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I was asked to give a one-sentence description of why Ghost Towns In Oklahoma was created at a Night Writers of Tulsa meeting this last Tuesday night. It was decided to make it a permanent goal for Ghost Towns In Oklahoma.

As part of the third book about Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, we thought it would be great to write about ghost towns along t...
08/16/2026

As part of the third book about Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, we thought it would be great to write about ghost towns along the historic Route 66 in Oklahoma. While researching the town of Warwick, one of the towns along Route 66 and considered a half-ghost town, a copy of the official resolution declaring Route 66 an historic route was found in the archives of the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer History.

It is always a great treat to find parts of a story puzzle that others did not think of or missed. Enjoy a little bit of the puzzle that will be in the third book:

Ghost Towns In Oklahoma - Along Route 66

08/14/2026

Great News

Ghost Towns In Oklahoma, Inc has completed all of the requirements to be a not-for-profit (501(C)3) public charity. We have been approved by Oklahoma, the IRS, Paypal Giving Fund, and FB just approved us for donations.

It has been a long two years, but worth it. You can donate directly or click on the Donate button that will be showing up now.

Join me on April 13, 2026, for the meeting of the Bartlesville Genealogical Society. I will be giving a presentation on ...
04/02/2026

Join me on April 13, 2026, for the meeting of the Bartlesville Genealogical Society. I will be giving a presentation on the Ghost Towns in Oklahoma - Washington County area.

The meeting begins at 7pm and is open to the public.

Address

1405 S. Maple Avenue
Bartlesville, OK
74003

Telephone

+19185109511

Website

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