Dead Man's Gulch

[W. Gray]

Has anyone in this forum ever heard of, know where it is at, or have seen Dead Man's Gulch in Elk County?

According to one source, it is in southwest Elk and according to another is in northwest Elk County.

Some hunters found a man hanged there in 1869 thus giving the area the name. According to an Oklahoma judge in 1931, the gulch is in the bottom of a deep canyon, surrounded by rugged walls of stone with much tree growth and underbrush almost devoid of trails for ingress or egress.

[Lyle]

 When I was a kid growing up in northwest elk,  My dad always told us it was up off of the Latham road past the old Parmer place. Sorry about my grammer, I went to school at union center. A long time ago.

[W. Gray]

Thanks, I had never heard of the place until yesterday. There appears to be a lot of rugged country in the nortwest area. Maybe the former Elk County sheriff chased a lot of rustlers into that area?

I have heard Union Center, the town, was so named because at the time it was formed in 1871 it was in the georgraphic center of the then United States.

[Janet Harrington]

Well, I just have to reply.  I never chased anyone up into that area, but I have heard of Dead Man's Gulch and I believe that Fly Boy is right.  I have read about Dean Man's Gulch in my history research, but of course, I don't have time right now to go look for it.  I will try sometime soon.

But anyway, I think that Dead Man's Gulch is somewhere in the Union Center township.  All of us who know that area know that there are some pretty deep gulches there.  It would be easy to hang a man there.

[jensarlou]

Hey Janet,
Wasn't my old place considered to be just inside the union township area?  I think I remember seeing that somewhere.  I do know there were some pretty steep areas around where Rock creek hit the north side of our property.  Then there's the draw on the west side by Hansons.  Would that not be to interesting to find out a connection like that to the history of the land that I once owned?  Keep us posted on what you find out as to where exactly it was located.  I would love to know.
Andrea