Martha Helen Beal

Martha Helen Beal was born on September 16, 1879, to Benjamin Taylor and Louisa Jane Beal in Ash Grove, Missouri. The family moved to Oklahoma Territory during the Land Run of 1891, settling near Ingalls. She graduated from Stillwater High School and then worked as switchboard operator in Wichita, Kansas.^[1]

Beal registered for the land lottery held on July 29, 1901, and was drawn second in the Lawton Land District, winning 160 acres.^[1] After winning her land, she received over 500 marriage proposals.^[2] She owned the land in Lawton that extended from Lee Boulevard northward to the alleyway between I and J streets, and from Railroad Street westward to 11th Street.^[3] She donated land that would become Lincoln Elementary School, two city parks, and a church.^[4] She married Charles W. Payne on July 16, 1902.^[5] By 1907, the couple had begun building the Mattie Beal House and once complete Beal would live there the rest of her life. She died on July 24, 1931, due to a ruptured appendix. Her husband Charles faced financial difficulties after her death and sold the Mattie Beal House in 1939 .^[1] The home was acquired by the Lawton Heritage Association in 1974.^[6]