Fred, Indian Territory

Fred.  What an original name for a town!  They broke the mold on that one.


I have known Fred existed for some time, of course, having been raised in Ninnekah.  Old Fred Road is right off of Old Hwy 81 and leads to the Muncrief Cemetery (which I desperately need to visit for OST).  I also have known of the historical marker for Fred, Indian Territory, for many years as it is near the abode of my best friend.  I had just never been there.  I know, I know.  But I am sure there are people in Philadelphia who have never been to the Betsy Ross House.  Just think about that for a minute.


The date:  May 15, 2012
My Adventure Partner:  The Un-Adventurous Shawna Dawn
Our Objective:  Get Our Fred On


This wearisome trek through the outskirts of town took a lot of effort.  I actually had to stop the car, get out, and snap a few pics.  :-)  But seriously.  The time had come for me to Get My Fred On.  And Shawna Dawn?  She got her I'm-Staying-In-The-Car-With-The-AC-And-My-Phone-And-Don't-Care-About-Fred On.  Fuddy. Duddy.

Sad, isn't it?  I am finding more and more that historical markers and cemeteries and all the awesomeness that I have set out to chronicle are being worn down by apathy.  So many are faded, beaten, and as in the case of Fred, untended.


I assume that you could get in through the gate if you were so inclined and the weather was cold enough to not have to worry about snakes in the overgrown craziness!  I REALLY want to know what those displayed documents are!  No doubt I will return to Fred when I have time to peruse and at a less convenient time for the serpentine residents of the area.


But what is Fred, you ask?  Prior to working on this post I knew essentially two things about it:  it used to be a town in Oklahoma in part of what is now Ninnekah, and it is the reason behind the name of Old Fred Road.  That is about all I KNEW.  Now.  Let's get educated.


First off check out this awesomeness:

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v012/v012p447.html

Pretty cool, huh?  I am not really sure just when this map was supposed to be from but it almost certainly was drawn ex post facto as Chickasha was in Indian Territory, not Oklahoma Territory, so prior to statehood there would be no reason for it to be listed next to something saying 'Oklahoma.'  The map is not of post-statehood or Ninnekah should be included.  Or maybe that is just my Ninnekah-centricity speaking.  Ninnekah and Chickasha were both established in 1892 and Ninnekah was initially the largest.  You would think if Chickasha is listed and Ninnekah isn't then Old Fred wouldn't be listed either since with the establishment of Ninnekah and Chickasha it declined in importance.  [For example, one piece of information I have come across says that the Fred Post Office was discontinued in 1894 with the mail for that area being integrated into Chickasha.  Interesting factoid:  That area which is mostly technically in Ninnekah still has Chickasha mail service!]  Of course you have to take into consideration that it is listed as 'Old Fred' rather than 'Fred' indicating it is already a thing of the past.

That was a very convoluted stream of consciousness, but if you follow me you see the bottom line is I don't know what timeframe the map was drawn in or is supposed to represent and I don't like that it left Ninnekah out!  :-)

Back to Fred.  This marker gives us the basics.  We see that Fred was a trading post established by Colonel Frank Fred in the 1870s at the crossroads of the Chisolm Trail and Fort Cobb Stage Road.  What the Ft. Cobb Stage Road is should be self-explanatory though I would like to see if there are other markers regarding that, and if you are not blessed enough to be an Okie and need more information on what on earth the Chisolm Trail is, look here.  No doubt that topic will come up again here at OST.

A lovely article published in The Chronicles of Oklahoma in December of 1934 gives us some insight about Fred.  It was written by a professor at the Oklahoma College For Women.  Oh, I'm sorry.  You could sense the overabundance of excitement oozing from that last sentence, couldn't you?  I will contain myself.  We shall cover OCW at length another time.

So the article.  The best part about it?  This statement:  

One of the old buildings still stands; the grave yard not far away and traces of the old stage coach stand are all silent reminders of the past.  

Fred was ESTABLISHED in the 1870s - this was WRITTEN in 1934!!  Half again as many years have passed since that article was written!!  Love it.  I also enjoy where she calls State Highway 19 (or whatever was in its place at the time) the "Alex, Lindsay, Pauls Valley Road."  :-)  I will have to look into just how long Highway 19 has been Highway 19.

What I would like to know and intend to try to find out when I do visit Muncrief Cemetery (anyone want to be my adventure partner?  :-) ) is if that pile of rock and stone over the hill from the cemetery that was the stage stand is still there.  Wouldn't that be something?!  It might even be worth traipsing through snake infested weeds to get to!

Another tidbit of note is that the reason Fred is where it is (aside from the crossroads aspect) is because there is a section of the Washita River that has a rock bottom and that is where they would move the cattle through on the Chisolm Trail.  Who knew?  Not that it is surprising.  Just as the Egyptians' lives were built around the Nile so it is with we Grady Countians and the Washita - and in the case of those fortunate enough to hail from Ninnekah, the Little Washita.  Yes, we will have to go more in depth on both rivers soon!!  :-)

I have found a couple more sources regarding Fred, but we will wait for another installment after I have more information on those darn documents and what-not.  We have the basics down.  Next time we dig in.