- "Tacola" redirects here. For the brush-footed butterfly genus, see Tacola (butterfly).
Washita County Courthouse in Cloud Chief
Cloud Chief is a small unincorporated community in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. The townsite was platted in April, 1892, as Tacola. The Cloud Chief post office was established in March and Cloud Chief was designated by the U.S. Congress as the county seat of H County, Oklahoma Territory. In 1900 the people of Washita County, by a vote of 1,349 in favor to 282 in opposition, illegally moved the courthouse under gunfire to New Cordell. Congress approved the move in 1906. The Cloud Chief public schools opened for the 1892-1893 school year and closed after the 1959-1960 school year. The high school was known as the Cloud Chief Warriors. The Cloud Chief post office opened on March 29, 1892, and closed on December 31, 1964. It was named for Cloud Chief, one of the Southern Cheyenne chiefs who had negotiated with the United States under provisions of the Dawes Act for opening the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reserve to settlement. Cloud Chief was also previously home of two newspapers. It was home to the Cloud Chief Witness, as well as the Cloud Chief Beacon. The Cloud Chief Beacon moved and became the Cordell Beacon immediately after the August 17, 1900 issue was printed.
References
- Fenn, Doyle. (1996) Cloud Chief: Original County Seat of Washita County, Oklahoma. Dexter, Michigan: Thomson-Shore, Inc.
- Boothe, Wayne. (2007) Images of America: Washita County. United States: Arcadia Publishing
External links
Coordinates: 35°15′09″N 98°50′35″W / 35.25250°N 98.84306°W / 35.25250; -98.84306
