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Oklahoma is Rich in Old West History
There were plenty of good guys and bad guys.
One of the more interesting things about living in Oklahoma is you can still get an Old West vibe here. Of course, the Cowboy Hall of Fame is located in Oklahoma City, and is a pretty big attraction here in Oklahoma, but what I find more interesting are the back stories of some of the old towns in Oklahoma.
I live in a town called Tecumseh. Obviously, there are a lot of towns with Indians names in this state, but I’m going to concentrate on a couple of nearby towns today.
This towns are tied in with a couple of interesting Old West characters. One good guy, and one decidedly bad guy. The good guy goes first.
If you watched, “You Know My Name” you might remember Cromwell.
Cromwell is where noted fronter lawman, Bill Tilghman was killed by corrupt prohibition agent, Wiley Lynn. In ‘You Know My Name,” Tilghman was played by Sam Elliott. While the account is highly fictionalized, it did give recognition to Tilghman, one of the most famous lawmen in Oklahoma history, or the history of the Old West for that matter.
Cromwell was founded in 1923 and was a rough and tumble place very briefly. It was a boomtown and had a population of several thousand people within a few weeks. It was also a very lawless place. Enter Bill Tilghman.
It seems Tilghman was trying to clean the place up, but as mentioned, was killed by Wiley Lynn on October 31, 1923. In what could only be called a controversial trial, Lynn was acquitted. But that’s not the end of the story.
A month later the town was burned to the ground. Allegedly by friends of Tilghman. There was no investigation into the fire. As for Lynn, he was later killed in a gunfight.
What about now?
Cromwell is a wide spot on the road which, as of 2010 had 286 people in it. So, when driving through a sleepy Oklahoma town, keep in mind things weren’t necessarily always so sleepy.
