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now closed, still sees the Amtrak
go by, though trains no longer
stop at this small town just
across the Red River.
Marietta, a little town that hugs US 77 but also has
stretched a little to meet up with Interstate 35. When
you enter Oklahama from Texas, Marietta is the first
county seat you meet, if you take the time to visit.
And yes, it's worth a visit.
I've been to Marietta plenty of times before, but
usually only to buy the cheap bags of broken cookies
sold at the local cookie factory. Sadly, the factory is
now closed.
Name that Town!
Like many towns (such as Maypearl in Texas),
Marietta was named after a lady near and dear to a
prominent man. In this instance, Marietta was the
wife of Jerry Washington, a member of the
Chickasaw nation who owned the land that the
railroad took for its tracks in 1887. Love County got
its name the old fashioned way, too: the county was
named after the Love family, which owned over
8,000 acres around the Red River. Nope, the town of
Marietta being the seat of Love County is not the
result of a tragic yet romantic story.
Historic Tidbits
In fact, there were many times Love County did not
prove to be so loving. Being in close proximity to
Texas, many outlaws running from the law found
refuge in the Post Oak and Cedar breaks along the
Red River. The WPA Guide for Oklahoma recalls a
place in Love County called Refuge Spring, which
used to serve as a boundary between Indian
Territory and Texas in the 1840s. The guide claims
many outlaws died in the grove of cedar trees. Joe T.
Roff, a son of early pioneers to the area who
witnessed Indian depredations in Texas and the
murder of his brothers by a gang of outlaws,
described Love County and the Chickasaw Nation as
being a bloody, wild, and violent frontier.
On more judicious note, one of Marietta's most
prominent citizens was Robert Alexander Keller,
who moved to the city from Montague County, Texas
in 1905 and practiced law there until he was elected
Senator in 1914. Many Mariettans fled the drought of
the 1930s to settle in California, and Lee Russell, the
famous Farm Security Administration photographer
hired to document the exodus, took picutres of the
refugees in Marietta.
Don't Loose That Loving Feeling
Today's Marietta is still a farming center, and keeps
itself rather busy. Its train depot, though, is no longer
the center of the town. Though the Amtrak
Heartland Flyer passes through twice a day, Marietta
isn't one of its stops. The city does have a small
military museum next to its beautiful courthouse.
There are even some places to get merry in
Marietta. Not only are there are some nice
restaurants along the Interstate, but the WinStar
Chickasaw Casino is just a few miles south.
though it isn't Christmas or anything.
at me from behind the jail, but a police target practice dummy.
station is this long, large, sturdy, yet very neglected
brick building. Was it a hotel? A school?
Administrative building? Winchester Mystery House?
From Texas, take Interstate 35 north to Oklahoma.
Marietta is just past the WinStar Casino.
From Oklahoma, go south on Interstate 35
towards Texas. Marietta is about 10 miles north of
Texas.
Unless you live in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Then
you have to go north to get to Marietta, because
Thackerville's closer to Texas than Marietta is.
Also, here's a map:
Henrietta gassing up in Marietta. Hey, that rhymes!
