1911 Map of Sansbois

About this map

Stigler and Quinton serve as the primary hubs of this eastern Oklahoma landscape at the turn of the century, an era defined by the expansion of the Midland Valley and Fort Smith and Western railroads. The map captures a moment when the rugged terrain of Sansbois Mountain and Broken Mountain is punctuated by dozens of rural one-room schools, including the curiously named Scroungeout School and the Belle Starr School. Transport relies on established water crossings like the Thornton Ferry over the Arkansas River and the Sampson Wade Crossing on Sansbois Creek. This survey reveals a deeply settled rural fabric before the modernization of the road network, highlighting family-named landmarks and small community centers like Briartown, Whitefield, and Kinta that anchored the region's early development.