Turley Hist page 11

Yes, Turley had its own Train Depot at one time built in 1906 when Turley was called Turley, Indian Territory. The RR Track was a branch off the main tracks that was constructed back in 1904 from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Wichita, Kansas. Later extended down to Louisina and north to Chicago, Illinois.

Some of the towns along the main track were Muskogee, Coweta, Broken Arrow, Tulsa, Owasso, Collinsville and Bartlesville.

A smaller arm came off the main track that traveled from Tulsa and stayed West of Highway 11 through Turley, Sperry, Skiatook, Avant and ended up at Barnsdall. The land was rich in Oil Fields and the trains were necessary to have the tanker cars haul the oil to the Tulsa Oil refinery's.

Back as early as 1906, families from Tulsa would ride the trains from Tulsa to Sperry, hire wagon drivers and head to the Tulsa County pic-nic

The Photo above was taken in 1917 at the Turley train depot dropping off passengers coming from Tulsa. As many as six trains came through Turley a day. Look over the Window on the Depot and you will see the words "Turley".

Grounds for an all day event. Now known as The Bird Creek Falls on 86th Street North and about a block South of the road. A very popular spot back then. (photo down Below). On the 4th of July, the place would be packed with families. The other popular spot to attend was the Orcutt lake now known as Swan Lake on South Utica n Tulsa. Even though Turley had a Depot, You would have to walk across the Street at Brannon's Store ( number 3 on the Index) to buy your train ticket and walk back over to the Depot to catch the Train. The Depot was heated in the winter.

As the years passed, only 1 tran would travel through Turley in the morning and in the evening would come back through Turley heading to Tulsa. Around the 80's, Trucks took over what the trains were doing and the trains stopped. Later in the 90's a group tried to put new life back in the train and use it for Tours. That never did materialize. During a 2025 vision vote, it was voted to remove the tracks and pave the railroad bed for a bicycle and joging path. The rail road track followed some great scenic trails. Below are some photos. Enjoy.

The index about shows where the Train Depot used to sit on the South West of the RR track and 60th Street.

The Photo to the right is a photo of The Tulsa County Pic-nic grounds better known as Bird Creek Falls.

The Photo below is the seeam Engine train headng sout back to Tulsa.

North of Skiatook, Oklahoma, there are seven caves. This photo is inside one of the chambers of one of the seven caves. This one is big enough to drive a car inside. The other six are smaller caves. This is along the Rail Track of the Midland Valley Railroad.

Upper Photo: The Midland Valley bridge North of Turley going over Hominy Creek.

Photo to the Right: Photo taken Just before the Rail Road Tracks were taken out around 1995.

Photo Below: Looking South. The Old Depot use to sit across the street on the left.