
Chronicles of Oklahoma
Volume 13, No. 2
June, 1935
OLD DAY COUNTY OKLAHOMA TERRITORY
Page 219
The student of Oklahoma history may look in vain to find Day County, Oklahoma, on the map. However, there was at one time
a Day County. From 1892 until 1907 it was a regularly organized county functioning as other counties. When Oklahoma became
a state in 1907, Day County was eliminated. The convention that framed the Constitution created a number of new counties in
that part of the State that constituted the Territory of Oklahoma, but only one was wiped off the map. Day County was situated
in the northwest corner of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country and the county seat was Grand, a frontier village located on
the north bank of the South Canadian river.
When the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country was opened April 19, 1892, and the counties had been designated by the Secretary of
the Interior, the county was known as County "E" but at the first election the name "Day" was selected. In volumes eight and
nine of the Chronicles is published an article entitled: "Some Remnants of Frontier Journalism," by M. A. Ranck, which tells not only of the frontier
journalism, but of the struggles of the pioneer settlers on the western edge of Oklahoma. The Historical Society has some
bound volumes of the Day County Progress—a paper printed and published at Grand for 12 years.
When the Committee of the Constitutional Convention was carving out new counties and giving them names they did not overlook
the names of the members of the Convention. Nine counties, according to Charles N. Gould in his book "Place Names," bear names
of members of the Constitutional Convention. There was no one by the name of Day among the membership, but there was a prominent
delegate who was Vice President of the Convention, Albert N. Ellis, and there is an Ellis County, Oklahoma. Mr. Ellis was
one of the leading men in the Convention and it was only proper that a county should be named for him and we have no record
of a protest from the people residing in Day County.
The present Ellis County does not include all of what was Day County, as that part south of the Canadian River was attached
to Roger Mills County, but to compensate the county for the loss
Page 220
of territory to Roger Mills County, Ellis County was given a large slice from the west side of old Woodward County. The county
seat of Ellis was located at Arnett.
While there is no Day County on the map, yet the pioneers of western Oklahoma have not forgotten its history. There was an
"old settlers" picnic held at Grand, the site of the county seat of Day County, a short time ago and Mr. O. E. Null read a
list of the names of the men and women who had served as County officers in Day County. We wish to preserve this list as a
part of the history of northwestern Oklahoma. The Chronicles is indebted to W. K. Suthers for the data contained in the following list of names of those who once held office in Day County.
—D. W. P.
OFFICERS OF DAY COUNTY
OKLAHOMA TERRITORY
1892 1907
PROBATE JUDGE
| Robert Alcorn |
............................................................ |
1893 to 1899 |
| A. M. Canott |
............................................................ |
1899 to 1901 |
| G. A. Bigelow |
............................................................ |
1901 to 1903 |
| D. G. "Gyp " Moore |
............................................................ |
1903 to 1905 |
| A. E. Williams |
............................................................ |
1905 to ........ |
SHERIFF
| Semer Mason |
............................................................ |
1892 |
| R. L. "Drape" Ramsey |
............................................................ |
1892 |
| C. B. Capps |
............................................................ |
1895 to 1897 |
| J. E. Bull |
............................................................ |
1897 to 1901 |
| J. L. Smith |
............................................................ |
1901 to 1906 |
| Anzly Ellis |
............................................................ |
1906 to |
COUNTY ATTORNEY
| W. H. Bristol |
......................................................... |
1892 ........ |
| Shannon McCray |
......................................................... |
1893 ........ |
| Price |
E. C. Gray |
| W. R. Ewing |
......................................................... |
1897 |
| Charles Swindall |
......................................................... |
1897 to 1898 |
| S. A. Miller |
......................................................... |
1901 to 1903 |
| J. C. Wright |
......................................................... |
1903 to 1905 |
| E. S. Sharp |
......................................................... |
1905 to ........ |
Page 221
COUNTY CLERK
| Thomas Curtley |
............................................................ |
1892 |
| H. I. Walck |
............................................................ |
1893 to 1899 |
| Edson L. Mead |
............................................................ |
1899 to 1901 |
| A. S. Burran |
............................................................ |
1901 to 1903 |
| W. H. Mouser |
............................................................ |
1903 to ........ |
TREASURER
| R. B. Ransom |
............................................................ |
1892 |
| H. E. Downing |
............................................................ |
1893 to 1897 |
| W. F. Burnett |
............................................................ |
1897 to 1901 |
| David Hogg |
............................................................ |
1901 to 1903 |
| Solomon Grim |
............................................................ |
1903 to ........ |
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT
| Clara Black |
............................................................ |
1892 |
| Shannon McCray |
............................................................ |
................ |
| Della Cann |
............................................................ |
1897 to 1899 |
| J. L. Mercer |
............................................................ |
1899 to 1901 |
| Ben Bouldin |
............................................................ |
1901 A. L. Squire |
| W. G. Brown |
............................................................ |
1903 to 1905 |
| T. C. Moore |
............................................................ |
1905 to ........ |
COUNTY SURVEYOR
| Adams |
.................................................................. |
| E. D. Walch |
........................A. C. Wilson........................ |
1896 |
| C. L. Sanford |
| F. M. Sanford |
| F. A. Bevins |
COUNTY ASSESSOR
| E. H. Bristol |
.................................................................. |
1896 |
| G. W. Woods, |
| R. A. Hutchison |
Page 222
COUNTY COMMISSIONER
| District No. 1 |
District No. 2 |
District No. 3 |
| John Webb |
John Reed |
Chas. Blackstone |
| Alex Crawford |
C. Blackstone |
M. F. Word |
| Cosmo Falconer |
Trav House |
M. F. Word |
| Cosmo Falconer |
J. T. House |
T. H. Russell |
| P. H. Simpson |
Geo. Carr |
T. H. Russell |
| J. W. Young |
J. B. Patton |
H. D. Brown |
| Sam Kendall |
W. T. Hart |
W. H. Suthers |
DISTRICT COURT DEP.
| L. A. Walck |
O. E. Null |
| O. H. Richards |
C. A. Null |
| A. L. Squire |
U. S. COMMISSIONER
Return to top
Electronic Publishing Center |
OSU Home |
Search this Site
|