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Shidler is located in the extreme northwest area of Osage county.
Off the beaten track, this small community of 500 is becoming known
to many.
Shidler was originally established by Eugene Shidler in December
1921 due to oil development in the Burbank Field, which proved to
be one of the largest oil finds in the United States.
Shidler hit it's heyday in the late 20's and 30's with well-known
figures such as Cosden, Phillips, Marland, Sinclair and even Clark
Gable working as a roustabout in the fields.
The town was incorporated in 1925 and at one time, 10,000 were
reported to live in Shidler in tents, huts and makeshift houses.
Life was fast, rough, and tough with survival of only the fittest.
Today, Shidler is a peaceful, relaxing place to live with a friendly
small town atmosphere. You won't find malls, museums, and amusment
parks here. What you will find is an area of friendly people who
still care and share.
With the current trend of "getting back to basics" and
with good hunting , fishing, golf and other outdoor activities,
the Shidler area really fits the bill.
Approaches:
BY CAR: 47 miles north on SH 18 exiting off the Cimarron
Turnpike; 43 miles east on SH 11 exiting off I-35; 81 miles west
on SH 20 and SH 11 exiting off US 75.
BY TOUR BUS: Contact Capitol Tours, 405-525-6100 (Oklahoma
City); Jefferson Lines, 800-827-7433 (Tulsa); Kincaid Coach Lines,
800-998-1903 (Oklahoma City); Village Tours, 800-283-3338 (Oklahoma
City and Wichita).
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The Shidler
Jail
Shidler jail was built in 1922 and served all the surrounding
communities. This was one of the largest jails around, having
2 cells. Henry Majors was Shidler's first lawman.
The town of Denoya, better known as Whizbang, was the most
colorful of the oilfield boomtowns in this area. It was populated
by many gamblers and a very rough element. Shootings occurred
almost every night and the bank was robbed twice. It was said
that a woman wasn't safe to be out on the streets of Whizbang
after dark. No one is sure where the name Whizbang originated.
Some say it was named after Whizbang Red an infamous lady
of the evening. Some say it was named after Whizbang Willie,
a favorite magazine of the time. Jose Alvarado, the law of
Whizbang, and the Shidler Sheriff had a shutout one night.
Alvarado, although a lawman, was known as a cold-blooded killer.
He killed Jane Watson who was trying to save merchandise from
a burning general store. He claimed he thought she was a looter.
Nevertheless, this story ends up with Alvarado opening fire
on the Shidler lawman who, coincidentally, had been seeing
Jane. Alvarado gets shot in the chest but keeps on firing
and hits the Shidler lawman with four of his six shots. Alvarado
then ducks for cover to reload but only managed to cover the
upper part of his body and was shot several times breaking
both legs. |
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The
Bivin Garden
The Bivin Garden is located one quarter of a mile west of
Shidler on Highway 11.
Shidler is situated 12 miles from the west entrance to The
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (Hwy 18) and 12 miles east of Kaw
Lake (Hwy 11).
Ray and Mollie Bivin constructed their home on six acres
of virtually uncultivated prairie in November,1981. They started
preparing the landscaped garden in June, 1982 and have now
reached their goal of spacious lawns, numerous flower beds
and hundreds of trees and shrubs.
The Bivins' are not trained horticulturists but have a love
of nature and this has been their motivation. They have tried,
and are still trying, to produce an unusual garden by planting
any item that may be adaptable to the extreme climatic conditions
in northwest Osage County,Oklahoma.
The Bivin Garden has been the recipient of such prestigeous
awards as th 1990 Award of Excellence by Keep Oklahoma Beautiful,
Inc. and the 1991 Conservation Award from the Daughters of
The American Revolution. |
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The
Tallgrass Prairie
Originally spanning portions of 14 states and covering over
142 million acres, the tallgrass prairie was one of North
America's major ecosystems. Today, less than 10% of the original
tallgrass prairie remains. Large, unbroken tracts of tallgrass
prairie only exist now in the Flint Hills of Oklahoma and
Kansas. As a functioning ecosystem, the tallgrass prairie
is extinct.
In 1989, The Nature Conservancy purchased the 30,000 acre
Barnard Ranch north of Pawhuska, Oklahoma as the cornerstone
of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve which now spans over 37,000
acres. The Conservancy's goal is to recreate a functioning
tallgrass prairie ecosystem using fire and bison. Fire has
been reintroduced to the landscape by using carefully controlled,
or "prescribed" burns. Burns are conducted at different
times of the year to mimic the original seasonality of presettlement
fires. Fire removes dead vegetation, controls encroaching
woody vegetation, and increases the vigor and flowering of
many plant species. |
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