Riddle's Station

Riddle's Station was a stage stand on the old Butterfield Overland Mail route in Indian Territory. It was located on the west side of the Forche Maline in what is now Latimer County. The station was named for Captain John Riddle, the operator. Riddle was a mixed-blood Choctaw and a prominent member of the Nation. He served many terms on the Choctaw Council. In 1858, the Council granted Riddle the right to build a bridge and tollbooth across the Forche Maline near his station.

Riddle's Station Site
Riddle's Station is located in Oklahoma
Riddle's Station
Nearest cityWilburton, Oklahoma
Coordinates34°55′13.9″N 95°15′24.13″W
Area3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built1858
NRHP reference No.72001072 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 13, 1972

Riddle's Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

"Riddle's Station is one of the more important of the even dozen such stands serving the Butterfield Overland Mail 1858-1861 along its 192-mile route across Indian Territory from Fort Smith to Colbert's Ferry on Red River. Unlike some of the other stands, however, it played a significant role in the development of the area for many years after the Civil War put an end to the service itself." The bridge there was asserted to be the first in the Butterfield route.[2]

Notes
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Kent Ruth (December 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Riddle's Station Site". National Park Service. Retrieved September 29, 2019. With accompanying two photos from 1972

Sources
  • Shirk, George H. Oklahoma Place Names. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987: ISBN 0-8061-2028-2 .
  • Wright, Murial H.; George H. Shirk; Kenny A. Franks. Mark of Heritage. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1976.
  • Wright, Muriel H. "The Butterfield Overland Mail One Hundred Years Ago", Chronicles of Oklahoma 35:1 (January 1957) 55-71 (accessed August 23, 2006).
Butterfield Overland Mail in Indian Territory
Next station West
Pusley's Station		 16
miles		 Riddle's Station 18
miles		 Next station East
Holloway's Station


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