EMMA RILEY SUTTON'S SUGGESTED CITYHealdton
was once just a trading post established by Elisha Mason. It was named
for it's founder, Charles Hobart Heald in 1888. The first post office
in Carter County was established five before in 1883. In those days,
before statehood, it was known as Healdton, Indian Territory and was a
part of the Chickasaw Indian Tribe.
Healdton
was part of the cotton producing area in western Carter County.
Healdton was on its way to being a ghost town as the cotton industry
became less prominate. Along came Wirt Franklin, an attorney, who
struck oil near Healdton in 1913, and the town was back. Healdton
is home to the first regulated oil field in the state. It began to grow
and prosper - another oil boom town in Oklahoma. Thousands of oilfield
workers and the railroad came to Healdton.
The Healdton oil field become known as the "poor
man's field" because the oil wells were quite shallow compared to
others and this reduced the capital needed to drill. Investors flocked
to Healdton to make it rich. Robert A. Hefner and Lloyd Noble are just
a few of those investors to make a name for themselved due to the black gold found in the red dirt of Healdton. Erle Halliburton established
his company as a leader in oilfield technology in Healdton.
Today,
it is still the largest producer of oil in Carter County. And, Carter
County is the largest oil-producing county in Oklahoma, making Healdton
and it's oilfields an important part of the county's and the state's
economy. The Healdton oil field, according to studies, will remain in
production for many years to come.