Take a Tour of the Most Notorious Ghost Town in Oklahoma!
Take a tour of the most notorious ghost town in all of Oklahoma. It's just a short 2 and a 1/2 hour drive up I-44 from Lawton, Fort Sill. So where is this place and what's the story? You can find this ghost town in Ingalls, OK. which is located between Stillwater and Yale. It was home to one of the deadliest and bloodiest wild west shoot-outs in American history. Have you ever heard of the 'Battle of Ingalls' before?
The 'Battle of Ingalls' took place on September 1st, 1893 and involved the infamous Doolin-Dalton gang also known as the Wild Bunch, Oklahombres, and the Oklahoma Long Riders. a group of U.S. Marshals attempted to capture or kill the gang while they were hiding out in Ingalls, OK. known to be a haven for outlaws and gunfighters. The gang was wanted for train and bank robberies along with other alleged crimes.
In the end, 9 men were either killed or severally wounded including 3 U.S. Marshals: Richard Speed, Lafayette Shadley, and Thomas Houston. There's a memorial marker in the town listing the lawmen who lost their lives in the fight. Hit play on the video below for a little history on this legendary Oklahoma ghost town:
Most of the Doolin-Dalton gang escaped that day but were later hunted down and either arrested or killed. You can visit the site where the battle took place, there are even some replica buildings that are period correct that show what the town looked like back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There's a lot of wild west history in this town and it's definitely worth the short drive to Ingalls, OK. to check it all out.
If you plan your trip around the anniversary of the 'Battle of Ingalls' and visit the town on or around September 1st they do a live reenactment of the gunfight and share the history of what happened. It's a really small town, around 150 people live there so you'll have to do a little research to see if they're doing the reenactment or not. Several movies have been made about the 'Battle of Ingalls' and a lot of movies and western characters have been based on the events and people who were involved.
I'm thinking sometime this Spring/Summer the family and I will load up the car and head to Ingalls, OK. and take a look around. I'd love to see it for myself and it would make for a great daycation getaway. Plus being that close to Still water we could hit Eskimo Joes for a bite to eat then head to Tulsa to hang out a while.
