Agawam, Oklahoma
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Agawam, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
 Old Houses at Agawam in March 2025 | |
  Agawam, Oklahoma  Agawam, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates: 34°52′24″N 97°56′46″W / 34.87333°N 97.94611°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Grady |
| Elevation | 1,240 ft (380 m) |
| Population (1960) | |
• Total | 35[2] |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1093811[1] |
Agawam is a ghost town in Grady County, Oklahoma.[3] Multiple abandoned houses remain in the town.
Agawam is located adjacent to US Highway 81,[4] near the junction with County Road 1490.[5]
History
Agawam was founded around 1909, when its post office was built.[6] Agawam was named after a Native American village in New England.[7] The community was located on the main line of the Rock Island Railroad.[8]
On 19 October 1915, two Rock Island trains collided head-on here, a southbound passenger train and a northbound freight train, resulting in seven fatalities and numerous injuries; engineer William Powell was blamed for the accident.[9] The Agawam post office closed in 1918.[6]
In October 1922, it was announced that Agawam would become a shipping point for a gas field in Grady County, due to its location: four miles from the Oklahoma Gas Company's pumping station, and on the Rock Island main line.[8] Agawam was described as a "new oil town" in 1923, when an auction of town lots was held.[10]
A gymnasium was completed in 1935.[a] In 1955, Agawam had a grade school with a "small enrollment", but it was large enough to field a very good girls' basketball team that, over the course of three years, had amassed 90 wins against four losses, despite usually only having seven players.[12]
