Feature: All Aboard

All Aboard!

Take a Ride on the Bartlesville-Dewey Interurban

by Debbie Neece, Bartlesville Area History Museum

There were cheers in the streets of Bartlesville when the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1900. Finally the black gold from Oklahoma’s first commercial oil well, the Nellie Johnstone, could be shipped to Kansas refineries and points yonder.

Locals were comfortable with horse and buggy as a mode of in-town transportation but, in August 1905, talk was stirring at the local barbershop about the possibility of electric rail service between Bartlesville and Dewey. “Preposterous,” some pioneers scolded, but a group of entrepreneurs pushed the naysayers aside and perused the possibilities.

As with many projects, the visions of grandeur were met with low funding and problems. With plans of initially connecting “Bartlesville is probably the best known city in Oklahoma today. You go east and tell a man you are from Oklahoma, and immediately he asks if you are from Bartlesville.” — Judge Shea, 1908. Bartlesville, Dewey and Coffeyville by rails, the broader plan was to reach Ramona to the south and Independence, Cherryvale and Parsons to the north. However, the furthest outreach became downtown Dewey and the Bartlesville smelters. Promoters from Bartlesville, Dewey, Independence and Muskogee shared the perception that land in this area was fairly flat, with few streams to cross, so the project would carry an inexpensive price tag. By September, there was a divide and conquer mentality as Joseph Curl traveled back east to visit with his “highfalutin, hoity-toity,” lawyer type friends with cash to flaunt, while others began the organizational base of the company. However, Curl was unsuccessful at fundraising so locals funded the project, although forward movement was slow. The charter was filed December 8, 1905, but then the project stood still. Finally, on July 18, 1906, the cities of Bartlesville and Dewey granted a 49-year franchise to the Bartlesville Interurban Railway Company; however, again, nothing happened. In May 1907, a board was selected: Joseph J. Curl, President; George B. Keeler, Vice President; Frank M. Overlees, Secretary; W.A. Smith, Treasurer; and Frank Phillips, William Speck and Joe Bartles served as voting parties. Finally, on June 10, 1907, the Bartlesville Interurban Railway Company formally accepted the earlier granted franchise and progress began in December 1907. Steel

for bridges over the Caney River and Coon Creek arrived by railroad cars and three grading gangs went to work.

Progress was finally happening! The terminal, brick powerhouse and car barns were soon under construction at the northeast corner of 4th Street and Comanche in Bartlesville, present site of the Public Service Company. The powerhouse was equipped with massive 1,250 and 1,500 horsepower engines, which produced sufficient electricity for Interurban operations with excess sold to the cities of Dewey and Bartlesville.

At 11:00 a.m., on Monday, April 13, 1908 a “golden spike” was driven at 3rd Street (later renamed Frank Phillips Blvd.) and Johnstone Avenue, to commemorate the official start of the Interurban construction. The Bartlesville Merchant Band played to an estimated two thousand people who witnessed each of the company’s officers strike a blow to drive the spike. After the ceremony, the spike was presented to Joseph Curl, President of the Bartlesville Interurban Railway Company, as a souvenir for his long hard

work in bringing the Interurban possibilities to fruition. The whole town joined the celebration, including Owens Jewelry Store who presented golden spike scarf pins to thirty of the spectators. But, not so quick! Ironically, the steel rail had arrived but the only spike in town was the golden spike driven for the ceremony. And, so construction paused. “Bartlesville is growing so fast that the ordinary means of locomotion no longer answers the purpose.” — Howard Sharp, Commercial Club Secretary, 1908. Indian Territory was ripe with oil and natural gas reserves waiting to be utilized. The employment base in Bartlesville was ramping up with the establishment of the Vitrified Brick Company, Great Western Glass Factory, and three zinc smelters: Lanyon-Starr, Bartlesville Zinc and National Zinc, at that time the largest smelting location in the world. Late 1906, brick street paving began on Keeler, Johnstone and Dewey Avenues. First, the clay condenser and retort waste from the smelter operations were crushed and used as road bed underlay. Secondly, the “buffalo paving bricks” from the Vitrified Brick Plant became the pavement. And, later, the Interurban steel rails were neatly tucked in-between the bricks.

February 1908, the contract estimated the expenditure of $100,000 for the powerhouse, laying 7.5 miles of heavy-duty railroad steel rails, installing trolley wire, erecting car barns and purchasing cars.

On April 22, 1908, as barely a mile of track had been laid, the first labor strike in the history of Bartlesville briefly stalled progress yet again. A reported ninety men walked off the line protesting long work hours and low pay. Some returned the following day; others were replaced by workers from Kansas City. Labor, financial and organizational problems weren’t the only issues plaguing the Interurban’s forward development, the bridge crossing the Caney River often washed-out, leaving a tangled spider web of useless steel rail, requiring constant repairs.

Finally, St. Louis Interurban cars arrived June 22, 1908; two 41’ long, double-truck cars for the runs between Bartlesville and Dewey, and two 32’ long, single truck cars for the Bartlesville smelter run and the “loop.” Open sided cars were later added during the summer. The fare within Bartlesville was five-cents with an additional Although some Oklahoma towns have yet to cover their five-cent charge for the return brick paved streets, the distinctive sound of driving over from Dewey. the bricks is a faint Bartlesville memory. And, only cente- After more than three yearsnarians remember the “clang-clang-clang of the trolley.” of promises, promotion and hard To this day, as street repairs are done in downtown work, the Interurban RailwayBartlesville, the buffalo bricks and clay smelter discards started running cars betweenare often exposed. Bartlesville and Dewey on July 18, 1908. The streetcars ran in both directions from the terminal at 4th Street and Comanche Avenue—east across the Caney River, through the community of Tuxedo, north to Dewey with an terminus at Don Tyler Avenue—west from the terminal down 4th Street to Cherokee Avenue, north on Cherokee to 3rd Street/Frank Phillips Blvd., west on 3rd Street to Mound Street (now Sunset Blvd.), then south to the smelters, ending at 14th Street. Along the track, “switches” allowed the steetcars to pass, keeping traffic flowing and on schedule. Traveling towards Dewey, the Phillips Switch was located a short distance

from the Caney River bridge crossing where George Ford established a housing community and the Gun Club opened a shooting range. Further north, a small doghouse structure near Minnesota Street was aptly named the “Dog House Switch” and marked the midway stop on the Interurban Railway to Dewey. In June 1909, the doghouse building was replaced by a platform with a sign that read “Little Bess,” named for Bess Hiatt, a young lady who lived near. And the final switch of the trip was at downtown Dewey, near the Dewey Hotel, where the Interurban cars reversed the travel back to Bartlesville.

In Bartlesville, the 3rd Street Switch was between Keeler and Johnstone Avenues. Theo Barlas’ Candy Store on 3rd Street, across from Parrett’s Dry Goods (now the Painted Horse), was the Interurban waiting room at the 3rd Street Switch. The Candy Store was a pleasant place to purchase candies, confections and cigars until the streetcar arrived. This switch allowed the Interurban cars to pass in route to and from “Smeltertown.”

The Interurban opened entertainment opportunities for Washington County and towns in southern Kansas. Service began to the smelters on September 18, 1908 and near the smelter terminus, the Belle Meade Race Track was located at the Lannom estate, where horseracing and sporting events were held. And at the Dewey terminus, Joe Bartles’ Dewey Roundup was an annual 4th of July extravaganza.

Additionally, the Cherokee Electrical Supply Company began working on an open-air amusement park in the Tuxedo Addition where a moving picture show and band stand drew crowds. The park opened September 2, 1908 but was short lived.

In November 1908, in the Little Bess switch area, George Taft of Garver, Oklahoma, purchased an 80-acre tract of land from Lugenia Hamilton to establish “Park Place,” a 16-acre electric

amusement park. The remaining 64-acres became housing lots. There is no evidence this park made it past the planning stages.

From August 1909-1913, Daniel Duree operated an electric amusement park at the south end of Choctaw, which was 10th Street at that time, with dancing, merry-go-round, picnic grounds and free entertainment and BBQ. The park was a short walk from the Wyandotte and 9th Street Interurban stop.

Approximately 3,000 people attended the July 27, 1915 grand opening of the Interurban Amusement Park established with an open-air movie, rides, swings, merry-go-round, dance pavilion and picnic grounds. This park was christened Prospect Park during a celebratory event August 25, 1915.

In an effort to keep the streetcars moving into the evening, the Bartlesville Interurban Railway Company took a page from Broadway with plans to illuminate the shopping districts of Bartlesville and Dewey. They faced competitive issues with the Bartlesville Light and Water Company, but once resolved the “Great White Way” brought daylight to the darkest nights. In September 1910, Second Street received the electric “juice” beginning with the Almeda Hotel at Second Street and Johnstone Avenue (current location of Tate Brothers Tire). Then, on February 17, 1911, the White Way illuminated Second Street from the train depot to Dewey Avenue, Third Street from Keeler Avenue to Cherokee Avenue, Keeler Avenue from Second Street to Third Street, and Johnstone and Dewey Avenues from Second Street to Fourth Street…eleven downtown blocks had lights from dusk to 1:15 a.m.

In anticipation of additional power needs, September 1911, a switch connected the Katy Railroad and the Interurban tracks so a large shipment of powerhouse machinery could be transferred to the Interurban powerhouse on a Katy railcar pulled by a Dewey Portland engine. The streetcar system was never profitable but the fact the company sold electricity from the power station to Bartlesville, Dewey and Tuxedo became a solid revenue source. New York oil tycoon, Henry Doherty, established Cities Service in 1910 and purchased the Bartlesville Interur-

ban Railway and powerhouse July 1, 1912, making it a part of Cities Service’s holdings.

In August 1912, Dewey’s White Way illuminated one block of the business district, but only on the south side of the block, between the Arcade Store and the First National Bank. The following June, Dewey’s White Way stretched from the Katy Railroad depot to the Santa Fe depot, illuminating six business blocks until the last Interurban car passed through Dewey each evening.

In 1913, area homes were wired in anticipation of electricity, a “Bartlesville” welcoming sign was hung over the intersection of Third Street and Keeler Avenue, and the White Way was extended from Johnstone to Osage on 4th Street…all set aglow by Interurban electricity. The White Way was such a success that an “Owl Car” was added to the system, which left the Interurban barn at 1:35 a.m. for the smelter area, with hourly intervals, returning to the barn for the final stop at 5:30 a.m.

The Interurban’s south “loop” opened December 1915, starting at 4th Street and Wyandotte Avenue, ran south on Wyandotte to 9th Street with a switch/pass at 7th Street (now Adams Blvd.) and Wyandotte, west on 9th Street to Delaware Avenue, south on Delaware to 13th Street, west on 13th Street to Keeler Avenue, north on Keeler to 8th Street, east on 8th Street to Dewey Avenue and north on Dewey to 3rd Street. Half hour service was maintained on the loop route. That is enough to make a person dizzy.

By 1916, eight railcars were in service with a total of 10.1 miles of track. WWI put a strain on the Interurban operation as men were called to patriotic duty, crimping the number of operators and passengers. Even a fare increase in 1918 could not save the railway. September 1919, the then Bartlesville Gas & Electric assumed electricity operation from the Interurban Railroad as the Interurban began to shrink operations in an effort to stay afloat and prevent business suicide. At that time, eleven St. Louis Car Company railcars were in service.

As an indication of prosperity and growth within communities, travel began transitioning to automobiles and buses forcing electric railways across America to file

bankruptcy. The Bartlesville-Dewey Interurban had not been profitable since 1913. In 1918, the company operated with a deficit of $26,208 and had mounted a $31,831 deficit by August 1919. Citing decreased revenue due to increased automobile usage and the concrete road between Bartlesville and Dewey, the Corporation Commission granted permission to end service to Dewey beginning October 2, 1919; however, limited service continued to Smeltertown and the Tuxedo suburbs. In January 1920, Dewey petitioned to restore the streetcar service to no avail.

Then, July 19, 1920, after twelve years and one day of operation, all Bartlesville Interurban streetcars returned to the car house on east 4th Street, never to run again.

In 1928, the Bartlesville Gas & Electric property sold to Southern Gas & Electric Company of Shreveport, Louisiana, who leased the system to Public Service Company, who purchased the system two years later, and the rest is Public Service Company of Oklahoma history.

In 1954, the powerhouse was razed after a fire damaged the building.

In conclusion: Although ideas have circled that the Bartlesville-Dewey interurban service extended to other cities or to the Dewey Cement plant, proposals were financially prohibitive.

During WWII, the national need for scrap metal was acute. As Washington County residents scoured abandoned oil fields and

alleys to add to the war effort, thoughts turned to scrapping the Interurban rails. Volunteers from the Dewey Cement Company removed the rails from their city streets. However, Bartlesville’s rails were at that time under several inches of asphalt or concrete paving making removal too costly. Remnants of the tracks are still visible at many locations within the city of Bartlesville, especially on Keeler Avenue between Eighth and Ninth Streets—the street has cracked where the Interurban Railway tracks rest under the pavement.

The Interurban bridge constructed over the Caney River, just east of the Public Service operating building, can still be noted by the piers in the riverbed south of the Frank Phillips Bridge. In addition, traveling on Frank Phillips Blvd. during the winter “We have sought permission from the Corporation Commission to discontinue rail service. In our application, we have stated that with the Commission’s approval, we are willing to continue service from Bartlesville to Smeltertown and during certain times of the day to Tuxedo until such time the street improvements to Smeltertown make other means of transportation available.” months, when the foliage is sleeping, the Interurban embankment is visible on the south side of the road as well as massive chunks of concrete support bases remain in the wooded areas east of the Caney River and north towards Tuxedo Blvd.