How Ketchum Is A Small Town Of Northeast Oklahoma That Has...

Ketchum is a small town in northeast Oklahoma that has a present-day population of 450 residents. Ketchum first became a town in 1899 and was named after a Delaware tribe member named James Ketchum. The town was originally located in the northeast part of Mayes County, close to James and his wife Elisabeth’s home. However, in 1912 once the Kansas, Oklahoma Gulf Railroad was expanded from Kansas to Texas the town was relocated. Residents moved the town site to the southeastern part of Craig County sandwiched between Mayes County and Delaware County to be near the railroad. In 1803 part of the land that would someday become Ketchum was a small portion of the land that was acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. This land was unsettled and deemed only suitable for Indian relocation. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed The Indian Removal Act and all Indians West of the Mississippi were forced to move to the Indian Territory. Once the tribes arrived in Indian Territory they began to rebuild. The struggles to rebuild lasted many years and some tribes never flourish as they once did. Many of the effects of the forced relocation are still felt today. Because of the forced removal the Indians did not trust the federal government. When the civil war began in 1861 many of the Indians sided with the confederates due to the lack of trust they had with the federal government and many of the tribes fought alongside with the Confederate army. â€Å"Old Military Road† was a road