Early Duncan and the Rock Island
Duncan’s Founder
William Duncan was born August 27, 1843 in McDuff, Scotland. In his early twenties he came to America where he married Sally Fraker Johnson, a quarter blood Chickasaw Indian. In 1881 he formed a partnership with Christopher Link to build a Chickasaw Nation store on Cow Creek where the Chisholm Trail, the stagecoaches and freight wagons from Fort Sill to Fort Arbuckle forded the creek. Soon after the store was established, he bought out Link’s interest in the store.
As the husband of a part Indian wife having a headright, William Duncan was entitled to claim an equal amount of land. This consisted of several hundred acres surrounding the store.
As a 33rd degree Mason and Scottish Rite Shriner, he was the organizer of the first Mason Lodge in the Chickasaw Nation.
In 1888 he sent to Scotland for his father, mother and two sisters, with their families, to come to Cow Creek, Indian Territory.
Learns of Rock Island Plans
In 1889 while attending a Shriner convention in Topeka, Kansas, he was told by some of his railroad Mason friends that the Rock Island was to be extended from Kansas to Texas. The survey showed it would cross his land, approximately two miles west of the Cow Creek Store.
He immediately sent his brother-in-law, Charlie Birnie, to Gainesville, Texas with sufficient freight wagons and drivers to bring back lumber to build a new store and homes for himself, his oldest son and the Birnie family on the railroad site.
Before the buildings were completed in 1891, other families having heard the railroad was coming, began to arrive. Before the first train arrived the population had grown to approximately 300 people.
The Town of Duncan,
Indian Territory (IT) is Established
On June 27, 1892 the first Rock Island Passenger Train arrived and the town of Duncan, Indian Territory was officially established. The train was met by the town band and many citizens to celebrate the momentous occasion. J.W. Hind, Duncan’s first commercial photographer, was on hand to photograph the event.
The original Rock Island Depot built in 1892 served Duncan until it burned in the late 1940’s. Interesting to note that the sign above the waiting room door declares it to be the “Ladies Waiting Room”.
In 1902 the Rail Yard consisted of the main line and two sidings. (Evidence of the west siding is still visible North of present day Hickory Street where it appears to have joined the main line.) Both of the original sidings are still there from Hickory south to Oak as well as part of the switch rail to the main rail just south of the water tower.
North of the Depot there was a Freight Depot on the west side of the west siding, with loading platforms on the north and south end of the building.
With the Depot and Water Tower located between the main line and the west siding. The Depot faced the East and had a Ticket Office, two waiting rooms and a large baggage and freight room.
A Pump House was located south of the Water Tower between the Main Line and the West Siding.
Immediately north of Main Street and west
of the west siding was a Coal house and Warehouse.
The Tool House was located between the west siding and the Main Line.
East of the Main Line a Seed House is shown. The East siding is joined with the Main just North of the Seed House.
Duncan continued to grow and prosper. That growth is reflected in the growth of the rail yard. This picture taken in 1910 looking north from Main Street shows the changes.
Two sidings and a large Cotton Loading platform have been added.
A grain mill, located next to the west siding, to accommodate the shipping of grain. Note the fill spout used to fill the grain cars directly from the mill. The grain farmers in the area had the advantage of selling their grain locally and the mill could ship the grain to waiting buyers.
A Stock Pen was built on the south edge of town. Cattlemen that had previously driven their cattle over the Chisholm Trail could now load them into cattle cars for the trip to Northern buyers. Ranchers realized more from their cattle because it took less time to reach a market and the weight loss was less. The cattle industry grew and southern Oklahoma was home to many cattle herds.
The cotton gins in Duncan processed the cotton grown on local farms. Once baled, it was taken to the Cotton Platform and from there loaded into freight cars headed to Northern fabric mills.
Earl P Halliburton started the Halliburton Company in Duncan. With the availability of the Rock Island Railroad, the company could ship oil field tools and parts all over the country. Halliburton became the largest employer in the area. Many support companies were established, under private ownership, to produce parts for Halliburton’s manufacturing department.
With the building of Sun Ray Oil Refinery, just south of Duncan, the Rock Island built a spur line to service the Refinery. Tank cars filled with crude oil were delivered to the refinery. The refined oil product was then loaded back into tank cars.
The oil industry in southern Oklahoma has enriched the communities in many ways, providing income for many Oklahoma families.
Agriculture, Cattle and Oil became the predominant products of Duncan (Stephens County) Oklahoma. The Rock Island, Duncan and Stephens County continued to grow and prosper through the years. Duncan has grown from the original 300 population to 25,000. It is the county seat of Stephens County and has many varied Industrial concerns operating.
Sadly, the Rock Island Railroad no longer exists due to bankruptcy in March 1980. The impact the Rock Island made on the growth of Southern Oklahoma is still evident today. Remnants of the Rock Island remain to remind us of our beginning, but these too are disappearing.
With the building of a replica of the original 1892 Rock Island Depot as a display and education area, it is our hope and intent to preserve the Rock Island History in Stephens County, Oklahoma.