Hi in response to your post: McCURTAIN COUNTY, A PICTORIAL HISTORY, 1982 edition prepared by the McCurtain County Historical Society. Page 186 Valliant This western-most county town was platted in 1902 gy the Townsite Commission at the site on the Choctaw and Arkansas Railroad, then under construction. It was named for F.W. Vallian, Chief Engineer for the railroad. Valliant was the successor of two earlier trading centers which had sprun up during Indian Territory days. Fowlerville, four miles to the east, had existed for many years and a post office operated there from 1894 to 1902. Clear Creek, about one mile Southwest, was trading center which began before the Civil War although a post office was not established until 1896. Both offices were closed when Valliant poffice opened in 1902. Some merchants such as Hosea Fowler and H.C. Clark moved their operations to the new town from Fowlerville and Clear Creek. Some of the other early merchants in Valliant were Sam O'Bannon, Jud Moore and William W. Swink. Valliant did not have the timber resources in its vicinity as did some of the other early towns. Its main reliance was on agriculture and that may account for the fact that the first county fiar was held there in September 1911. The Choctaw Lumber Company built the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad from its Bismark, later Wright City, mill to tie in with the Frisco at Valliant in 1910. In 1912 Horses, buggies and wagons were the primary methods of transportation. The streets had not yet been paved and were almost impassable during the wet season. The O'Bannon and Son store at this time was a replacement for one Sam Obannon built in 1902 and which burned the following year. Jud Moore was one of the first merchants to build in Valliant in 1902. He arrived in Valliant in 1902 after having previously operated at Bonton and Shawneetown. He had served as Deputy United States Marshal during Indian Territory days and was a member of McCurtain County's first Grand Jury in 1907. Gilbert Merry came to Eagletown in 1892 and later worked at Lukfata and Garvin before opening the Valliant drug stroe in 1906. The Valliant railroad station was constructed in 1902 shortly after completion of the Arkansas and Choctaw Railroad, later the Frisco. W. T. Cooper came to Valliant to teach in 1912 and later built the Hotel Cooper. He was superintendent of schools and authored a widely used mathematics book. Stafford's Cafe was there in Valliant by 1918. The Valliant High School was quite a large brick structure and sported a football team. No date is noted for the High School. Dr. Still was Valliant dentist from 1890s to 1919. J.R. "Bob" Wilson began an ice business in Valliant in 1914 and a year or so later added a bottling plant. Bob Warlick was originally a partner in the business but he sold to Gilbert Calwell in 1928. Wilson shold his interest to Caldwell in 1931 and shortly thereafter the bottling business was dropped. Caldwell continued the ice sales until 1968. It is noted that initally the drinks sold for 30 to 35 cents a case, but the price later went up to 60 cents a case. I hope this helps. Lou Ann [email protected], "Jr." wrote: > > Posted on: McCurtain County, Ok Query Forum > Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ok/McCurtain/11475 > > Surname: VALLIANT > ------------------------- > > I would like information as to how VALLIANT, Oklahoma received its name,/ > . . . its Founder, . . . and in what year > it was founded. > > It was my birth place, but I had never sought this information until now,/ > . . . and I'm sure that the history > of this community could prove to be very interesting. > > Therefore, the invitation goes out to all you "History Buffs," to get out > your proverbial history shovels and start digging, . . . there's much to > be discovered!! > > To tell the truth, . . . I'm EXCITED about just how much history can be > found. > > It is truly a wonderful experience to have such a website as this to have > the opportunity to seek and share information. > > Thanks to everyone associated with this site. > > Eld. Knowles > > ==== OKMCCURT Mailing List ==== > CONTACT the list admin. at [email protected] > Visit the McCurtain county page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~okmccurt/mccurt.htm > > ============================== > Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp -- ******************************************************************** Lou Ann & Woody Lunsford NATIVE TEXAN 8310 Werner, Houston, TX 77037-3027 TEXAS PROUD 281/447-8803 Fax 281/447-2133 ********************************************************************