RED FORK RANCH TURNED INTO THE TOWN OF DOVER

By John L. Lillibridge

Lillibridge Is A Native Of Dover Who Currently Resides In Hialeah, Florida.  The Following Are Excerpts From Manuscripts He Has Written About He History Of The Dover Community,

April 20, 1989—The Hennessey Clipper—The town of Dover, Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, is located in the area known from 1872 to 1889 as the Red Fork Ranch and the ranch headquarters was at what is now the corner of Red fork Drive and Sheridan Street in Dover.

            At first the ranch was only a “trader’s ranch” which was simply a store to sell supplies to passersby, but later some ranch owners, as well as other cattlemen, ran cattle on the ranch.

            The ranch derived its name from its location near the Red fork of the Arkansas River, later known as the Cimarron.

            In the early 1870s, a store at the Red Fork location became economically feasible after the number of Texas cattle herds being driven north over the Chisholm Trail increased.

            Wagon and other traffic on the Wichita-Fort Sill Road, which parallel the Chisholm Trail also created a demand for supplies at the ranch.

            After 1870, when the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency was moved from Camp Supply to Darlington, Indian Territory, traffic along the trail increase considerable.

            The Indians from tribes located southeast of the ranch, down the Cimarron, were customers of the ranch.

            Outlaws who frequented the area from the earliest known days of the ranch also patronized the Red for Ranch store.

            Probably the first man to see the trading opportunity at the Red Fork Ranch location was T. J. McAdams who in 1871, applied to the Indian Agent at Darling for permission to operate a store where the Chisholm Trail crossed the Red Fork River.  This application was rejected for reasons, which have not been found but by 1872, a number of other trader’s ranches had sprung up along the Chisholm Trial in Indian Territory.  At the time, the United States Government for the obvious connection characterized the ranches as “whiskey” ranches.

            From 1871-1880 the ranch changed hands numerous times, and slowly expanded as the traffic along the cow trails increased.

            John G. Chapin is one of the men who is mentioned as having owned the Red fork Ranch.

            Chapin was born in Crawford County, Indiana in 1839, the son of Ebenezer and Katherine Chapin.

            Very little is know of his early life, except that he and his family lived in Oquawka, Henderson County;, Illinois.

            According to his military service records, Chapin enlisted in the Union Army 10^th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, November 20, 1861, at Oquawka.

            The enlistment papers show that at the time of his enlistment he was 24 years old and described as a farmer with grey eyes, dark hair and complexion and standing about 5’ 11” tall.

            Chapin served his entire military service wit the 10^th Regiment.

            His stint in the army included several promotions as well as demotions.  He also was in hospitals several times, but it is not known for what reason.  He was mustered out of the army at Louisville, Kentucky, July 4, 1865.

            The Sumner County Press, Caldwell, Kansas on July 16, 1874, mentioned at J. G. Chapin was the contractor on the mail route between Elk Falls and Wellington, Kansas.

            One source said Chapin had first come to the Indian Territory as an employee of an Indian trader in 1882.

            He came to the Indian Territory from medicine Lodge, Kansas, but it is not known how long he was there or what he did there.

            He apparently arrived at the Red Fork Ranch in the fall of 1882.

            When the Williams and Company sold the Red Fork Ranch in 1884, Chapin already had obtained a Government license to maintain a store there in the old ranch building.

            By October 885 reports from several Indian agents seem to indicate, Chapin was in charge of not only the store, but also the whole ranch.

            Chapin reportedly had no regular prices for his store goods.  He is said to have charged whatever his whim was at the time of sale.

            April 22, 1889, found Chapin still conducting business at the Ref Fork Ranch store.  There are several reports of people going to Chapin’s store that evening to get supplies and some spent the night camped under the big cottonwood tree by the store.

            Henry Martin and possibly several others spent the night as guest of Chapin in the ranch store “hotel”.

            From the early days of the ranch, the store operated as a place where people received their mail; however, the post office was not opened at Dover until the spring of 1890.

            The reason the community was called Red Wing for a short while is unknown, but it was probably to avoid confusion with the town of Red Fork located near Tulsa established some years earlier.

            John Chapin had the opportunity to name the town Red Wing anything he wanted since he was the one who signed the official application to the Postal Department for establishment of a post office there.

            Chapin chose the name Dover, although legend holds that the railroad officials chose the name.  No records have been found to settle the dispute.  Chapin was also selected as the first Postmaster of Dover.

            He decided to file a land claim and as the quarter section where his store was located had not been properly claimed, he formerly entered a claim of it on May 20, 1889.

            Chapin’s claim was filed on by at least four other parties; his homestead entry was disputed a number of time, but different parties.  He withstood two different efforts by citizens of Dover to form a townsite company and obtain the title to his land.

            The argument against Chapin’s claim was that Chapin had been in the Territory after March 2, 1889.  The government acknowledged that fact, but indicated that Chapin was in the Territory with proper permission and that he had not taken advantage of his position to gain any advantage for filing his claim.

            The fact that Chapin waited a month to file his claim undoubtedly won the case for him.

            Dover did not grow much in its first year, except for two additional buildings, which Chapin built.

            However, as soon as he had title to the land Chapin began to form a town.

            He began selling lots around the store.  On October 11, 1890, having form a township company with five others, Chapin platted a portion (nine town blocks) of his claimed quarter and gave the platt the name of West Dover.

            Another homesteader William T. Anderson had already platted a town site of Dover, just east of Chapin.

            However, Anderson’s town failed to materialize, primarily because the railroad was nearer Chapin’s town site.

            Soon West Dover became simply Dover and Anderson’s townsite vanished into farm land.

            By 1893 Dover had grown considerably and it consisted of two butcher shops, two general stores, three grocery stores, one hotel, two blacksmith shops, a livery and feed stable, a saw mill, a saloon, shoe shop, a music store and two feed and flour stores.

            Some of the known early businesses were The Hoover and Block Lumber co., F. B. Mauk, manager; The Oklahoma Restaurant, David Clark, proprietor, and the John McDaniel’s Meat Market.

            There were two doctors in the early days by the names of Rumsey and Bailey.

            The mayor at that time was S. e. Newkirk.  The members of the city council were Thomas Drew, Thomas Carter and W. R. Richardson.

            The town also had a newspaper for a short while known as the Dover Journal.

            By 1894, the population of Dover stood at nearly 200.

            In 1895, John Chapin left Dover and moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he lived until his death on November 9, 1897.

            As much as any other individual, Chapin was the transition of the Chisholm Trial from a trail packed with cattle to its use only by freighters and other travelers.  He was present when the government accomplished clearing the huge and open pastures of the fast herds of cattle.  And he watched as the development of the ‘unassigned lands: turned into farms and communities.  In many ways, Chapin truly was the “Father of Dover.”