Blanton is an unincorporated community[2] in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. It was a rail stop for two rail lines,[3] one of which used to transport grain until the mid-1990s.[4] It was named after Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad (DE&G) executive W. B. Blanton.[5]

Blanton, Oklahoma
Unincorporated community
Blanton railroad stop in the mid-1990s
1909 map of Garfield County, Oklahoma with Blanton.
Coordinates: 36°25′38″N 97°55′35″W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Garfield
Elevation [1]	1,240 ft (400 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	580
GNIS feature ID	1100216[1]

History

As early as 1909, Blanton was a rail stop for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.[3]

A second rail line existed at Blanton, running to Kiowa, Kansas. This line, originally built for the DE&G in 1904 and 1905[6] and later sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, was used to transport grain until the mid-1990s.[4] An entity called the K & E Railway Company (K&E) acquired the then-unused Blanton to Kiowa branch from the Santa Fe in 1996; but, finding no interest in area grain companies to reactivate the line rather than continuing truck shipments to Enid, the K&E applied for and was granted permission later in the year to abandon the line.[7]

Geography

Blanton is located at 36°25′38″N 97°55′35″W, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west-northwest of Enid. It is a part of the Lower Cimarron-Skeleton Watershed.[8]

Blanton is currently located on mile 548.2 of the main track of BNSF Railway's Texas Division.[9]

References