WPA Interview w/ Albert L Anderson, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma

Sandi Carter     SandKatC@aol.com
Return to Grady County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html
==========================================================================
                             USGENWEB NOTICE
                     Copyright.  All rights reserved.
             http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
==========================================================================
ALBERT L. ANDERSON 
SECOND INTERVIEW 
INTERVIEW # 10231 

P. O. address: Chickasha, Oklahoma 
Residence address: 207 Pennsylvania Avenue 
Date of birth: December 1, 1882 
Place of birth: Indian Territory 
Name of Father: Joe Anderson 
Place of birth: Texas 
Name of Mother: Margret Moncrief 
Place of birth: Fort Arbuckle

Jasper H. Mead 
Investigator 
March 16, 1938

My name is Albert L. Anderson. I was born December 1, 1882, in the Indian 
Territory, Pickins County, now called Grady County, fifty-six years ago.

When I first began to remember real well we lived on what was called the Old 
Trail Crossing on the Big Washita River a little northwest of what is now 
called Lucile. There was nothing there except our ranch house on the south 
and Charley Campbell’s ranch house on the north side of the Washita River.

The man water supply came from dug wells and from the Washita River; there 
was very little farming as most of the country was open with no fences, and 
most of this open country was ranch land with many cattle and much blue stem 
grass.

I remember very distinctly when there wasn’t such a place as Chickasha, and 
the closest railroad was at Caldwell, Kansas. We got our supplies at Bowie, 
Texas, and Caldwell, Kansas.

There was plenty of wild game such as deer, turkey and prairie chickens: you 
did not have to hunt them, they would hunt you. I have seen turkey roosts 
where limbs of trees as large as a big man’s leg would be broken because of 
so many turkeys roosting on them. There were more wild turkeys then than 
there are tame turkeys now.

Camp Fred, about which there is so much talk, is about two and a half miles 
straight east of Chickasha, on the south side of the highway: the place was 
named after a man named Fred who lived in Anadarko. Camp Fred had a general 
merchandise store put up by Dave and Scott Cook and this place was used for a 
stage depot or a relay station.

The Swinging Ring Ranch was established by Tom Grant and his ranch house was 
located on the first corner west of the Chickasha Hospital. I am satisfied 
that I could show some of the old markings.

Frank Fred, Mr. Fred’s boy, was killed here at this ranch house by George 
Beeler. They got into a row; I think over cattle but I would not be positive.

I have seen Chief Geronimo any number of times; one time that I saw him was 
in 1897, when the Government had him captured for killing some Negro 
soldiers. I never did see him with the coat made out of scalps but I have 
seen him with the scalp of a red headed woman which he had tied to a string 
and which he wore around his neck.

I am one-sixteenth Choctaw Indian: my allotment was 215 acres. I have drawn 
several payments from the Government, my largest one was $300.00 under 
Cleveland’s Administration, in 1893. I have been a cow-puncher all my live 
up until 1911 and since then I have farmed a little and worked at common 
labor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Grady County Archives:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html