Bryan Co., OK; Town of Silo - History --------------------------------- Submitted by the Bryan County Heritage Library Located in Calera, OK Written by Letha Young Typed for the archives by Trudy Marlow --------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ---------------------------------------------------- HISTORY OF SILO, OKLAHOMA The community of Silo was on the route of the Butterfield State. Coming from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, the stage stopped over at Nail's Crossing which is located three miles southwest of Kenefic and is now designated as an historical site. It crossed Blue River at that point, and made stops at Cotton Tail Junction, south of the present town of Brown, Robber's Rooste, and Silo. All these com- munities had post offices, and the stage delivered the mail. It made another stop over at Carriage Point, south of Kiersey. It also has been designated as an historic site. Before statehood in 1907, there were no free schools for white people in communities which were not incorporated. If a community had a population of at least 200, and was officially incorporated, it could collect taxes to build a free school. Silo was surveyed in May of 1901, and officially approved as a township in September of 1901. At that time it had a population of 248 people. As was the custom of many towns of that time, it was named after the Postmaster, Albert B. Gates, whose nickname was Silo. The post office first opened in 1893 and closed on January 31, 1946. It was then located in the grocery store of Jim Harrison, who bought the store from his brother, Claude Harrison, in 1918. His daughter, Pauline Harrison, now lives at the approximate site of the old store. There were 195 acres in the town of Silo. The boundaries of the streets were marked with Bois D'Arc posts. The streets running east and west were Texas, Bourne, Houston, and Washita. Main Street ran north and south with East 1st., 2nd., 3rd, to the east, and West 1st., 2nd., and 3rd. to the west. In addition there were two small streets, Cotton Lane and Park Lane, which flanked a small lake where two cotton gins were located. The business section was located on Main Street between Bourne and Texas Streets. There were two grocery stores; one owned by J. E. Shelnutt, the other by Claude Harrison, a drug store owned by Mr. Hampton, a barber shop owned by Luther Wingate, a restaurant owned by Tom Croley, a dry goods store, a blacksmith shop, a harness and boot repair shop, a wagon yard, three doctors who ran their business in their homes, and a hotel. When the hotel caught on fire, the citizens strung up wet wagon sheets to prevent the other businesses from catching fire. The school house was located at the corner of West 2nd. and Texas. There have been at least two schools at that location. The first one was torn down, and the material was used to build another one at the same site. It still stands and now houses the Kindergarten and Head Start classes. Prior to incorporation, there was an Indian school located in the south part of town across from where Buddy Hayes now lives. There was a campground located northwest of the school where early settlers could camp out while they searched for a homestead. There was a spring there where they could get their water. When the railroad came to Durant, Silo began to slowly dwindle away. By 1910 the population had dropped to 180, and 1920 it was 152. During the forties and fifties there were two stores still in business. They were owned by Jim Harrison and Bob Taylor. The school was attended by grades one through eight. High school students went either to Mead or Cobb. Since Silo was located midway between those two communities, it was decided that the new school would be built there when the three schools consolidated. The new school opened in 1970, and Silo began to grow again. HOW SILO WAS SURVEYED I hereby certify that I have carefully and accurately surveyed and staked the town of Silo, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory in accordance with departmental instructions and embracing the above described land and that this is a correct plat of --. 2nd. That all distances are in feet and decimate thereof measured with a steel tape. 3rd. That the boundary posts are 4 inches by 4 inches by 5 feet each not painted. 4th. That all block and alley corners as well as all street intersections have been marked by Bois D' Arc stakes 2 inches by 2 inches by 16 inches. 5th. That the front lot corners in the thickly settled part of town are similarly marked. 6th. That all block corners which are not marked hereon are right angles. 7th. That Bois D' Arc posts 4 inches by 4 inches by 24 inches long have been sunk flush with the surface at 6 base lines, Intersections marked thus 8th. In case of reestablishment of any limit monuments, in any case discrepancie5 shall be discovered or in ANY case, the dimensions of lots and blocks along the boundary lines of the township shall not be construed as - title to any land outside of the townsite - above listed descriptions. --------------------------------------------------- Written by Letha Young