Ashland, OK

Ashland grew after postal officials selected its name in 1902, when residents’ suggestion of Pearl City was set aside; its post office opened that October. Cotton and cattle supported a commercial district of stores, cafés, a creamery, gins, and other services, then a 1911 fire destroyed nearly half the business houses. The town’s school opened in 1908, and Kiowa annexed the district’s students in 1966. A 1940s U.S. Army Ammunition Depot occupied surrounding farmland as the boll weevil damaged cotton, leaving ranching as the remaining agricultural base. Ashland now sits 11 miles northwest of Kiowa on County Road E1550.