Canadian County, Oklahoma Genealogy

United States Oklahoma  Canadian County Canadian County, Oklahoma genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Canadian County Courthouse 201 N Choctaw Avenue; PO Box 458; El Reno, OK 73036 Phone: 405.262.1070 Clerk Court has land, marriage, divorce, probate and court records

Parent County
1889--Canadian County was created in 1889. It was an original county. County seat: El Reno

Description
Situated in west-central Oklahoma, Canadian County is bounded by Kingfisher County on the north, Oklahoma and Cleveland counties on the east, Grady County on the south, Caddo County to the southwest, and Blaine County to the northwest. Canadian County lies mostly within the Red Bed Plains, a subregion of the Osage Plains physiographic region. The county's northwestern corner is situated in the Gypsum Hills. Drained by the North Canadian and the Canadian rivers, which cross the county from northwest to southeast, the county consists of 905.17 square miles of land and water. At the turn of the twenty-first century incorporated towns included Calumet, Mustang, Okarche, Piedmont, Union City, Yukon, and El Reno, the county seat.

In 1803 present Oklahoma was included in the area known as the Louisiana Purchase. Explorers and traders soon traversed the area. In 1820 Stephen Long followed along the Canadian River on his return reconnaissance trip across the central Great Plains. Three years later, Thomas James followed the North Canadian River's course on one of his trading trips through present Oklahoma. In 1839 trader Josiah Gregg departed Van Buren, Arkansas, with trade goods and followed the Canadian River to New Mexico.

In 1859 the Caddo of Louisiana were transferred from the Brazos Reservation in Texas to central Oklahoma. Showetat, the last hereditary chief of the Caddo, established his camp on the north bank of the Canadian River about six miles west of present day Union City. He is considered the first permanent resident of present Canadian County. The Wichita were relocated to the same region in 1861. However, they removed to Kansas during the Civil War, returning to present Canadian County in 1865. That year Jesse Chisholm blazed the trail, which bears his name and was used by Texas cattle herders from around 1867 to 1884. In 1867 the United States and the Plains Indians negotiated the Treaty of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, which set aside land west of the Caddo and Wichita for the Cheyenne and Arapaho, who were removed from Colorado to present Canadian County in 1869.

In 1870 the Cheyenne-Arapaho Agency (later named Darlington Agency for the first Indian agent, Brinton Darlington) was established on the north bank of the North Canadian River. Numerous threats of violence between American Indians and cattlemen led to the opening of Fort Reno on the south bank of the river, opposite Darlington, in 1874. Fort Reno (NR 70000529) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Approximately five years after the fort was established, the first telephone communication in Oklahoma was tested using a telegraph line that had been installed between Fort Sill and Fort Reno.

Canadian County was settled by non-Indian settlers through three land openings which occurred in 1889, 1892, and 1901. After the Land Run of 1889, El Reno bloomed overnight on the southern bank of the North Canadian River, while Reno City rose on the north shore. The Organic Act of 1890, creating Oklahoma Territory, designated the county as County Four, which consisted of the eastern half of present Canadian County. In 1892 the surplus Cheyenne-Arapaho lands were opened to non-Indian settlement, and the western half of Canadian County was appended at that time. The southwestern portion of the present county was added after the 1901 land lottery. In local elections the first residents chose El Reno, over Reno City, Frisco, and Canadian City, as the county seat, and Canadian, after the Canadian River, was selected for the county name. A one-story, frame livery stable served as a the seat of county government until a new structure was built in 1901. Designed by W. J. Riley and Solomon A. Layton, the ornate courthouse served the county until a modern building was constructed between 1962 and 1964.

Agricultural pursuits were the main economic base of the early settlers. However, 1890 was a dry year, and crops failed. Rain was abundant in 1893, and most crops flourished, causing prices to be depressed. The following year the first homesteaders "proved up" their acreages, claiming free and clear titles from the United States government. In 1908 farmers had 350,000 acres under cultivation, and the principal crops included corn, wheat, oats, cotton, alfalfa, sorghum, and hay. By 1930 livestock numbered 26,228 cattle, 7,597 hogs, 6,738 horses, 4,034 sheep and goats, and 2,698 mules. In 1930 Canadian County reported 2,961 farms of which 54.7 percent were operated by tenants. By 1963 Canadian County farmers reported 70,000 chickens, 67,000 cattle, 15,400 hogs, 6,500 sheep, and 5,100 milk cows. Farmers had 143,400 acres planted in wheat, 33,400 acres in barley, 31,600 acres in oats, 23,200 acres in sorghums, 10,900 acres in cotton, 9,600 acres in alfalfa, and 3,800 acres in corn. At the turn of the twenty-first century Canadian County reported 1,165 farms and 466,874 acres in farm land.

For Oklahoma farmers the Great Depression began in the 1920s, due to low commodity prices following World War II. Although Canadian County experienced tight economic times, the impact was less than in other Oklahoma counties. In 1930 Canadian County farmers had 330,512 acres under cultivation. The "Per Cent of Farm Tax Delinquency" in 1932, in Canadian County, was 10.8 percent of assessed value. In 1930 farm income in Canadian County averaged $12.86 per acre, considerably above the statewide average of $9.52 per acre. The "Federal and State Emergency Relief Expenditures" in Canadian County, in 1930, were $20.97 per capita compared with $27.68 per capita statewide average. Canadian County ranked 15th in farm acreage in cultivation, 17th in farm income per acre, and 75th in farm tax delinquencies. There were more people working and fewer people on relief in Canadian County, on average, than in four-fifths of Oklahoma's counties.

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Fort Reno had been converted to a remount depot, where horses and mules were trained for military service as pack animals. Two Army Air Corps training fields were opened in Canadian County during the war: Cimarron Field southwest of Yukon (now C. E. Page Airport) and Mustang Field south of El Reno. Both facilities employed county residents in supporting occupations. Post World War II the civilian jobs were easily transferred to the Federal Aviation Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City and Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City. The largest employer in the county was Mustang Public Schools with six hundred employees. Corrections, another area of significant employment, had approximately 325 employees working at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, 100 workers at the Gary E. Miller Canadian County Children's Justice Center near Banner, and 35 people on the payroll at the Union City Community Corrections Center.

El Reno Junior College opened in El Reno in 1938 as a two-year extension of the El Reno High School. In 1941 it came under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. At the turn of the twenty-first century it operated as Redlands Community College. In 1970 the Canadian Valley Area Vocational Technical School opened on State Highway 66 between El Reno and Yukon to serve the needs for manual education in Canadian and Grady counties.

Transportation routes have progressed from trails and waterways to modern highways. In 1849 the California Road, from Arkansas to California crossing Oklahoma along the Canadian River, was heavily traveled by gold seekers going to California. An extension of the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) from Pond Creek in Grant County to Minco in Grady County passed through Okarche, El Reno, and Union City in 1890, providing the necessary transportation for successful farming operations. In the early 1890s the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) operated an east-west rail line from Oklahoma City through Yukon and Cereal (now Banner) to El Reno. When the line was built westward through Calumet and Karns Spur to Geary in Blaine County, El Reno became a rail hub and the regional headquarters for the Rock Island, a major employer in Canadian County for the next seventy-five years. In 1904 the St. Louis, El Reno and Western Railway constructed a line between Guthrie and El Reno, which passed through the Canadian County towns of Piedmont and Richland. The Oklahoma City and Western Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) built a line from Oklahoma City to Chickasha in 1901. Their tracks, which passed through Mustang, provided passenger service until 1952.

Highway construction and paving received a major impetus during the 1920s, and Canadian County retained its characteristic of being a transportation hub with U.S. Highways 66 and 81 crossing at El Reno. U.S. Highways 270 and 281 intersect at Geary on the Canadian County and Blaine County line. State Highways 3, 4, 37, 92, and 152 were developed later. In the early 1970s Interstate Highway 40 traversed the county from east to west.

Canadian County experienced phenomenal growth in the last three decades of the twentieth century. Previously, it took sixty-three years for the 20,110 residents counted at 1907 statehood to grow to 32,245 in 1970. Then the population jumped to 56,452 in 1980 and 74,407 in 1990. At the turn of the twenty-first century the county's population peaked at 87,697, of whom 86.9 percent were white, 4.4 percent were American Indian, 3.8 percent were Hispanic, 2.5 percent were Asian, and 2.1 percent were African American.

A list of settlers claiming land in the Land Run of 1889 is replete with several different ethnic names. East-central Europeans dominated, especially in the southeastern portion of the county around Yukon and Mustang. Their influence continues to shade the area's culture with the annual Czech Festival held in Yukon each October. Other area celebrations honor the heritage of the Chisholm Trail and the legacy of onion burgers sold by laid-off railroad employees in El Reno.

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Oklahoma Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

For animated maps illustrating Oklahoma County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Oklahoma County Boundary Maps" (1819-1912) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
==== Populated Places ====


 * Calumet
 * Concho
 * El Reno (county seat)
 * Geary (partly in Blaine County)
 * Mustang
 * Okarche
 * Oklahoma City (mostly in Oklahoma County)
 * Piedmont (partly in Kingfisher County)
 * Scott (partly in Caddo County)
 * Union City
 * Yukon

Neighboring Counties

 * Blaine
 * Caddo
 * Cleveland
 * Grady
 * Kingfisher
 * Logan
 * McClain
 * Oklahoma

American Indians
Census
 * 1851 - 1959 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1895 - 1914 U.S., Native American Citizens and Freedmen of Five Civilized Tribes, 1895-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1898 - 1914 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Dawes Final Rolls - Oklahoma Historical Society

Land and Property
 * 1884 - 1934 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934 at Ancestry — index and images ($) *1889 Oklahoma County Plats 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more information see Indians of Oklahoma

Cemeteries
LDS Cemetery Records Vol. 21 page 123 - Kansas Cemetery

State Census Records

 * 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census 1890 - Oklahoma Historical Societ
 * 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907 at Ancestry — index and image ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Oklahoma starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Oklahoma Census.

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Oklahoma Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images
 * 1889 Oklahoma County Plats, 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * El Reno Homesteader Filings - Oklahoma Historical Society

Maps

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Maps n More - county and township maps.
 * Oklahoma Civil War Map of Battles

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9236 Oklahoma, Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955] at Ancestry — index (free)
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWI

 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWII

 * Oklahoma Military Deaths - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
Oklahoma Newspapers Online Oklahoma Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Oklahoma newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Oklahoma newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Oklahoma State Historical Society - catalog of known Oklahoma newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate
Online Records
 * 1801 – 2008 Oklahoma Wills and Probate Records 1801-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1887 – 2008 Oklahoma Probate Records 1887-2008 at FamilySearch — images

School Records

 * 1895 - 1936 at | FamilySearch — index and images

Vital Records
See also How to order Oklahoma Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Oklahoma Birth Certificate or Death Certificate Applications to mail.

Births
Online Birth Records Indexes and Images
 * Early Oklahoma Birth Records

Marriages
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1841 - 1927 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 at FamilySearch Index only. *1870 - 1930 Oklahoma, Select Marriages, 1870-1930 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 Oklahoma, Marriages, 1870-1930 at My Heritage index ($)
 * 1889 - 1951 Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Marriage Index, 1889-1951
 * 1890 - 1995 at FamilySearch Index and images
 * OKGenWeb Oklahoma Marriages

Deaths
Online Death Records Indexes and Images
 * Obituaries Listed in the Oklahoman - Oklahoma Historical Society — index only
 * 1935 - 2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1936 - 2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}
 * 1936 - 2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}

Divorces
Online Divorce Records Indexes and Images
 * 1923 - 1942 Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Divorce Index, 1923-1942

Societies and Libraries
Canadian County Genealogical Society PO Box 866 El Reno 73036 E-mail:[mailto:CANCOGEN@AOL.com CANCOGEN@AOL.com] Website

Oklahoma Genealogical Society 1125 NW 50th St Oklahoma City, OK 73118 PO Box 12986 Oklahoma City, OK 73157-2986 Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * Canadian County, OK History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Oklahoma Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Oklahoma Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Canadian County OK GenWeb Project, a member of The OKGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.