Wellston, OK

Wellston is a Lincoln County town west of Oklahoma City, where the 2020 census counted 679 residents. Christian T. Wells established a trading post in the northern part of the Kickapoo Reservation around 1880, and the Wellston post office opened in 1884 with Wells as postmaster. After the 1895 land run, Thomas Craddock staked a claim near the post and deeded land for the townsite.

Wellston sits south of the Deep Fork River, north of the Turner Turnpike, and near the road network around State Highway 66 and State Highway 102. The old Ozark Trail passed through town, and the Arkansas and Oklahoma Railroad reached the area in 1898. Route 66B still loops through downtown, keeping the town's transportation history visible in the present street plan. Wellston's story is a trading post, a land-run townsite, a railroad stop, and a highway community gathered along the Deep Fork valley. The community's old trading and travel routes still give its center a recognizable shape.