Bray, OK

Bray is a Stephens County town on Oklahoma State Highway 29, nine miles east of Marlow between Clear Creek Lake and Lake Fuqua. The 2020 census counted 952 residents. The town covers roughly 66 square miles, with a main road that stretches for miles through a mostly rural landscape. Bray-Doyle School District, a baseball field, community center, food pantry, and volunteer fire department give the spread-out town its local institutions, while Marlow and Duncan supply larger employment and shopping connections.

The post office was designated in 1908 and took the last name of first postmaster Thomas W. Bray. In 1909, the community had a general store, blacksmith, constable, physician, teachers, and grain and livestock businesses along the highway. Cotton farming and oil and gas work shaped later decades. Residents incorporated Bray in 1977 to keep the community from being annexed by Marlow or Duncan. Today, Highway 29, the two nearby lakes, school activities, fire protection, and long rural roads make Bray feel much larger on a map than its headcount suggests.