Including some of Oklahoma’s earliest and most productive oil fields, Duncan and Stephens County played a major role in the development of America’s oil industry. Through historic images, this book focuses on the two themes that emerge from the area’s past: first, the settlement, growth, and development of communities with strong, progressive pioneer heritage; and second, the discovery of oil in the late teens, and the development of a petroleum industry with a worldwide reach and impact.

Using primarily the archives of the Stephens County Historical Museum, the authors selected photographs that illustrate the two themes of community and oil, and how they impact each other. Highlights include the growth and development of Duncan, Marlow, and Comanche; prosperity from the oil boom; the strong

sense of community through the Depression; service in both World War I and World War II; renewed growth following World War II; and contemporary efforts to strengthen the communities.