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Depew History
On a cool clear morning January 15, 1901, Mr. W. F. Malley, a
Bristow citizen, took a walk down the railroad from Bristow to some land that a
friend, Mr. Bogle, had told him about the night before. This land was about 8
miles west of Bristow and lay alongside the railroad. In the walk from Bristow,
Mr. Malley counted four farm houses. One of those was a log house about 3/4ths
mile of Bristow belonging to rancher, Fred C. Knapp.
After some difficulty in finding the land he was searching for, and with some assistance from Mrs. Sloan at the section house, and with the use of a horse loanded to him by friends, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Joe, cattle ranchers, Mr. Malley was able to locate the land he was searching for. It was beautiful land with lots of wildlife surrounded by a large tract of good land densely covered with timber that could be used for a commercial use.
Mr. Malley returned to Bristow on January 16, 1901. He and Henry W. Sims made application for land for the town of Depew at $10.00 per acres.
January 30, 1901, Mr. Malley drew up a petition for a post office. He had twelve friends sign it. Three names were submitted. First choice was Depew; second, Mark Hanna, and third was Thurston. The first name was accepted and Mr. Malley's commission arrived May 17, 1901. He opened the office that day and sent out the first mail.
The town's name of "Depew" was after Chauncey Depew, a United States Senator from New York. After the surveying and staking of the town was completed, the first telephone company came to Depew. The first baby was born and named Depew Martin.
Lands which became Depew was first allotted to full blood Native American, Lydia Barnett. Lydia held title to approximately 115 acres, less six acres reserved for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, which C. G. Jones builth through Depew in 1897.
Within two years, Depew grew to 500 inhabitants. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Depew was growing. The first doctor, Dr. O. S. coppedge, had arrived from St. Louis, Missouri. When he arrived men were removing stumps from Main Street. Dr. Coppedge brought with him a horse, buggy, a few medical supplies and $700.00. He used the money to purchase a small wood fram building on the corner of Main Street and opened his office and a drugstore. In a few short years, this builidng was torn down and replaced with a modern brick drugstore.
The first bank was opened in October 1907. There was a livery stable and then a second bank opened managed by C. N. Lee. The first newspaper Depew Independent was established in 1908 by W. C. Coop. This was later run by J. W. Rushton and his daughter, Jessie Rushton, until it closed in the late 1940s.
By 1911, ten years later, Depew had grown from one permanent business house to 14. Tree stumps had been removed from Main Street and the automobile had been seen driving down the street. The first airplane had been seen flying overhead.
By the mid 1920's there were two banks; the Depew National Bank and the State National Bank; three lumberyards, two drugstores, a dentist, three grocery stores, two barbershops, two mechanic shops, a pipe yard, three service stations, one baker, a Ford automobile dealership which later became a Chevrolet dealership, two indoor theaters, two hardware stores, two cotton gins, four hotels, and a funeral home. It was during this time Dr. Coppedge was joined by Dr. Martin and Dr. Harrington. After a few years, Dr. Martin & Harrington left and Dr. Wharton came and stayed until his death in the late 1950's.
The first church in Depew was the Methodist. In 1923 the Baptist Church was started. The Church of God was bult later and I. A. Petty organized the Grace Assembly.
Depew also organized many lodges such as the Masons, D Molay, Rainbow for Girls, Rebeckahs, Eastern Star, Royal Neighbors, Odd Fellows, PTA and Mothers Club. From 1925 to 1930's a very strong Chamber of Commerce also existed boasting at its peak 106 members.
The roads outside Depew were still dirt but in 1927, U.S. Highway 66 was paved and Depew was now accessible by paved highway. But in 1929 the Great Depression came with the oil men beginning to leave. With the loss of oil came the loss of money to support Depew's growth. People left, businesses closed, the Chamber of Commerce folded and even houses were moved out of town. By the late 1930's, there were only two grocery stores, one bank, one dry goods, one hardware, two service stations and a few other businesses.
Information for this article came in part from:
The Depew Independent, Vol. 1, No. 3, March 19, 1909, extracted by Barbara Bragg Gross;
The Depew Independent, Vol. 1, No. 5, April 2, 1909, extracted by Barbara Bragg Gross;
The Depew Independent, Vol. 2, No. 52, February 24, 1911, extracted by Barbara Bragg Gross;
The Depew Independent, Vol. 14, January 13, 1922, extracted by Barbara Bragg Gross;
A research paper compiled by Mrs. Janice Allee's 1998-1999 Depew Elementary Fifth Grade class, Depew Elementary School, DES Library Special Collection.
