History:

The town of Lawton was founded August 6, 1901, when the last of the Indian lands in the Oklahoma Territory, the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation, was opened by the federal government for settlement. In contrast to land runs used in other parts of the Territory, a lottery was established to distribute the land in 160-acre plots. A person wanting a claim had to register for the drawing. On July 10, 1901, registration opened at Fort Sill and at El Reno, Oklahoma. About 29,000 "wannabe" homesteaders from all over the United States journeyed into the southwest Oklahoma Territory to register at Fort Sill during the 16 days registration was open. Another 135,000 registered at El Reno. Lottery planners in Washington, D.C. had not foreseen so many people wanting land in that part of the country. The drawing began July 29th at El Reno, and only 6,500 were lucky enough to be selected for a homestead in each of three districts, one of which was Lawton.
Lawton faced many problems during its early years. In the first days, there were an estimated 25,000 people living in tents. There were no streets or sidewalks and no utilities; schools were few and overcrowded, the water supply was inadequate and unclean, and fires were difficult to contain. Hopes of Lawton becoming a thriving metropolis surged, then faded from one disappointment to the next. Its 1910 population was under 8,000. Numerous mining claims in the nearby Wichita Mountains failed to produce gold ore. A proposed railroad linking Lawton with trade from the east was abandoned when oil was struck west of Ardmore. Oil drillings in the Lawton area proved to be shallow and barely productive. Despite these obstacles, Lawton continued to grow, slowly and steadily at times, and in great spurts at others. By 1950, population had increased to almost 35,000 and mushroomed to over 80,000 by 1990. Much of its growth came with the establishment of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill. Throughout the years Lawton and Fort Sill have worked in cooperation to become one of the finest military communities in the country.