Stephens County, OK

A host of cowboys and trail bosses herded more than four million head of cattle through an untamed frontier along the storied Chisholm Trail in the 1880s. Longhorn cattle traversed the trail from as far south as Brownsville, Texas, north through Indian Territory (roughly paralleling what is today U.S. Highway 81) and on into Kansas where they were shipped via rail to Northern and Eastern markets. The Chisholm Trail weaves through Stephens County and through the towns of Marlow and Duncan, where its history is recorded at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center Museum.

Stephens County, the state's Number 1 producer of oil, was established July 16, 1907 and named for John Hall Stephens, a representative from Texas. Stephens County came largely from the Chickasaw Nation of Indian Territory (the old Pickens County), with a small portion on the Western edge from part of Oklahoma Territory, as the dividing Territory line, the 98th Meridian, cut through the county.

Oil was discovered in what is now Stephens County several years before Oklahoma became a state. Many little towns were established around the drilling sites, but when no oil was found they faded away. As early as 1903, shallow wells were drilled in the Cruce area, near Duncan Lake.

Located in Stephens County of Southern Oklahoma, Duncan Area Lakes offer a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities provided in a good family atmosphere. Awaiting you are the four area lakes, Clear Creek Lake, Duncan Lake, Lake Fuqua, and Lake Humphreys, each having its own unique characteristics and charm, and not to forget - five state record black bass. Year round fishing houses are available for seasonal fishing.