City of Crescent Got Start By William Brown

Article transcribed & submitted by: Tammie Chada

The Guthrie Daily Leader
Sunday, April 18, 1971
© Guthrie News Leader

City of Crescent Got Start By William Brown

Logan county's second largest city, Crescent, was started in 1889 by William Brown on his homestead a mile southeast of the present location.

The town was then called Crescent City.

When Brown came in some months later to make his permanent location on the claim he had homesteaded in April, he and his party brought with them from Kansas two wagon loads of groceries. After putting up their tents near a common center they designated one tent to be used as a store. So, Crescent City began in the fall of 1889.

The name was selected because the glad in the timber at its location was the shape of a new moon.

Soon after Ben Ryland became a partner in the grocery business, a log store was erected on the Brown homestead in which a general mercantile business was started. It continued operation until 1902 when it was moved to the new town where the business continued until the death of Brown in 1933.

Crescent City was officially platted on a townsite on portions of the Brown and Ryland homesteads in Nov. 1891.

The first hotel owned and operated by W. F. Mock was across the street from the Ryland and Brown store. Prior to this his wife served meals to travelers in her one room log cabin and at times furnished sleeping accommodations to newcomers to the "City."

A saw mill built in that first fall became a cotton gin five years later.

At the very start Lute Long established a blacksmith shop, and in 1890, Dr. W. A. Kendall, the first doctor, established the first drug store. George H. Warrensburg was the first postmaster.

Following the official platting of the town in 1891, a town government was organized with George Simmons, the first mayor, A. M. Sturges was town clerk and James Holliday was justice of peace.

When the Denver, Enid, and Gulf railway was built from Guthrie to Enid in 1902, missing the town of Crescent City about a mile, a new townsite named Crescent was platted along the railroad in September of that year. Eighty acres were taken from each of the homesteads of C. E. Wells and J. H. Rhodes.

The new town grew rapidly and soon completely absorbed the original town.

The first school in Crescent City was subscription school taught by J. T. Pfimmer in a blacksmith shop in 1890. Miss Pluma Williams taught the school the following year and the third term was instructed by Miss Fannie Oliver who later became Mrs. F. L. Cress.

The one room building soon proved inadequate and another one room structure was built to accommodate the primary department.

This later burned and an addition was built to the original school house. This building was later sold to the Methodist and Christian churches. The equipment of the original school house was crude. The desks and seats were made of slabs of oak.

In 1908 an eight room two store brick structure was built, which served until 1930 when a high school and grade school building was built.

First high school graduate was Glen Homan in 1912. In 1934 the graduating class numbered 27.

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Logan County, Oklahoma