Page Contents for Lindsay, Oklahoma

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Historical Events

Chamber of Commerce.

Organizations, Churches, and Sports.

Libraries.

Schools.

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Oklahoma state capital is Oklahoma City.
The population of Lindsay is approximately 2,890 (2005), 2840 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 1,454 (1990), 1211 (2010).
The amount of land area in Lindsay is 6.078 sq. kilometers.
The amount of land area in Lindsay is 2.3 sq. miles.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Lindsay to Washington DC is 1233 miles.
The distance to the Oklahoma state capital is 43 miles. (as the crow flies)
Lindsay is positioned 34.83 degrees north of the equator and 97.60 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Lindsay elevation is 978 feet above sea level.
Lindsay median income is $ 26,667 (2000).
The Lindsay median home price is $ 38,100 (2000).
Lindsay average annual precipitation is 35.2 inches peryear.
Lindsay average annual snowfall is 9.1 inches per year.
The average winter temperature is 36.6 degrees F.
The average spring temperature is 59.8 degrees F.
The average summer temperature is 82.3 degrees F.
The average fall temperature is 62.3 degrees F.

Location

in southcentral Oklahoma at the junctions of State Highways 19 and 76 about 45 miles south of Oklahoma City and about 30 miles southwest of Norman. Other nearby communities include Erin Springs, Alex, Maysville, Dibble, Washington, Cole, Purcell, Elmore City and Wayne.

Here is a location page with links to maps and directions.
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History & History Related Items

In 1902, when the Santa Fe and Rock Island Lines decided to connect, Lindsay was created. By 1906, broom corn was brought into the area. By 1920, Lindsay was the largest broom corn center at the time. An oil well was opened here in 1945.
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The incorporation of Lindsay

20 December 1946

Attractions

There are several original homes here in Lindsay. These homes were built when the town was founded. The Murray Lindsay Mansion was built in 1879 on Indian land owned by Frank and Alzira Murray.

The Murray Lindsay Mansion Historical Site
Erin Springs, Indian Territory
2 miles south and 1/2 mile west of Lindsay, Oklahoma
Phone 405-756-2121
The Murray Lindsay Mansion stands stately amid the area development and modernization of the last 126 years. Originally a two story structure built of solid rock with 18" interior walls, the building has maintained its appeal to over 20,000 visitors since the Lindsay Community Historical Society formed to operate the house in 1986.
The Lindsay Community Historical Society provides volunteers to host guided tours through the Mansion, with true tales of the past. The Mansion is also available by reservation for groups, parties, weddings, etc. The facility operates from contributions by its guests and members and there is no admission charge.

A Founder's Day celebration is held every year around the beginning of May.

Learn more about Lindsay at this page from the local school.
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Lindsay City Government

Official website for Lindsay, Oklahoma
308 Southwest 2nd Street
Lindsay, OK 73052
Phone 405-756-2109

Lindsay Historical Events

1870-1880s
Frank and Alzira Murray
During the 1870's and 1880's, enterprising mixed-blood Indians and intermarried whites carved extensive ranches from Indian lands in the Chickasaw Nation. Two of these pioneers - Frank and Alzira Murray - constructed a massive mansion in the center of their empire. The Lindsay Historical society is operating this mansion as a physical legacy of those enterprising men and women.

In the 1850's, young Frank Murray arrived in New Orleans. Although from a prominent family in Ireland, he entered the new land penniless. He drifted for a while, and finally arrived in Indian territory. While on that frontier he met and married Alzira McCaughey-Powell. Alzira was a Choctaw who had been 16 years old when she joined her tribe in Indian Territory. In 1868 she married Captain William Powell. They had a daughter, Anita, born in 1869. Captain Powell died two months later. In 1871, Alzira met and married the ambitious Frank Murray. In 1888, Anita married Lewis Lindsay. The young couple and Anita moved to Pauls Valley on the western edge of the Chickasaw Nation, and from there they relocated in Erin Springs, about two miles south of Lindsay. Situated near the Washita River, their four room cabin was also on the stage line between Caddo and Fort Sill, a busy road which carried freight and passengers from the rail station to the fort. Their nearest neighbors were reportedly 25 miles distant.

The Land
As an intermarried citizen of the Choctaw tribe, Murray could legally improve and exploit Indian land. He used this advantage to build a vast ranch and farm. Beginning with a small tract of land, he and Alzira eventually controlled more than 20,000 acres of land, and ran more than 26,000 head of cattle. It also was reported that in one year they raised 400,000 bushels of corn. One cornfield included 8,000 acres and stretched three miles wide and five miles long.

The House
With unlimited access to rich tribal lands and growing markets for beef and produce in the territory, the Murrays prospered. To house their eight children and to reflect their new status, they began work on a large stone house. The principal building material was obtained from a nearby quarry, and the mason was John Coyle, a Scotsman. Lumber was hauled from Gainesville, Texas, and walls and partitions in the downstairs level were eighteen inches thick and solid rock. The original building was a two-story square design, with full basement and attic. A wooden veranda extended across the front facade. When finished, it was the largest and most ornate home in the western Chickasaw Nation, containing 15 rooms, 2 baths and 4 fireplaces.

Business in Indian Territory
Frank and Alzira administered their far-flung operations from their home for the next ten years, but their prosperity waned as the business sank into debt. In 1892, mired in financial collapse, Frank Murray died, leaving his Indian wife to salvage their fortunes. Alzira proved she was ready for the challenge. She reorganized the farm and pared expenses, but just as her economic fortunes were rebounding, unlimited access to Indian land was halted by allotment and tribal dissolution. Despite this setback, she made a transition into non-farm business. She was an organizing officer and major stockholder in the First National Bank of Lindsay, a stockholder in banks in Chickasha and Purcell, and a part-owner of a mill and grain elevator in Pauls Valley. From land and cattle to stocks and bonds, Alzira Murray proved that Indians could adapt to new conditions.

House Remodeled
In 1902, Alzira remodeled the old stone house. She removed the front veranda and installed a classic portico with Grecian columns. She added stucco to the brick walls and raised the roof for more sleeping rooms in the attic. The house which emerged from this facelift is the Murray-Lindsay Mansion operated by the Lindsay Historical Society. Representing the role of mixed-bloods and intermarried whites in the economic development of the Indian nations, their house is open for all to see.

Lindsay Chamber

Lindsay Chamber of Commerce
107 North Main
P.O. Box 504
Lindsay, OK 73052
Phone: 405-746-4312

Lindsay Organizations

Lindsay Chamber of Commerce
107 North Main
P.O. Box 504
Lindsay, OK 73052
Phone: 405-746-4312

Lindsay Libraries

Lindsay Public Library
112 West Choctaw
Lindsay, OK 73052
Phone 405-756-3449

Lindsay Schools

Lindsay Schools
302 Southwest 8th Street
Lindsay, OK 73052
Phone 405-756-3132
Home of the Leopards Lindsay

Miscellany

The population of Lindsay was:
1990 - 2,947
2000 - 2,889
2002 - 2,876
2005 - 2,890

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Lindsay is located in the Central Time Zone and does participate in Daylight Savings Time