Remembering Oilton, Creek county Oklahoma

From OHS Oilton had its start during the oil boom in the Cushing-Drimright Field. In 1915 town lots were sold and on May 5, 1915, a post office was established. By mid-1915 the First State Bank opened, and the Gusher newspaper was first issued. Also in 1915 the Oil Belt Terminal Railway and the Oil Fields and Santa Fe Railway constructed lines that would connect Oilton with Jennings and Cushing. On March 24, 1915, approximately five thousand people witnessed the first passenger train arrive in Oilton. By 1918 the burgeoning town had four hotels and several restaurants serving oil-field workers. In 1920 the town had a population of 2,231. As the need for road-building material increased, a rock crusher was established two miles east of the town in 1923. By the mid-1920s Oilton had five churches and five school buildings. Local farmers grew cash crops such as watermelons, cantaloupes, corn, and cotton as well as apples, pears, and peaches. In the 1930s one cotton gin, eight oil companies, and ten gasoline plants operated. In September 1954 the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company started construction on a building that housed equipment enabling customers to convert from crank-type to dial telephones. In December 1961 a new brick building replaced the former post office facility, which dated to 1919. After the population peaked in 1920 during the oil boom, it declined to 1,518 in 1930. Numbers continued to dwindle to 1,225 in 1940 and 1,087 in 1970. Population rose to 1,244 in 1980 only to drop to 1,060 in 1990. As of the 2010 census, Oilton had 1,013 citizens.