Historical Marker Program

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Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Site

Greer County
Location: Beside OK Highway 34/U.S. Highway 283, immediately west of the Willow missile site. Willow, OK
Coordinates: 35.062140, -99.500900
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Charles T. and Mary Ellen Doyle Family

To counter the Soviet Union's Cold War nuclear threat in the 1950s, the United States government created the Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Twelve Atlas F Missile sites were built near Altus Air Force Base between 1960 and 1962. One of these sites sat immediately east of this marker.

The underground silo that housed the 82-foot-long missile here was 174 feet deep with a diameter of 52 feet. Connected to the missile silo by a tunnel was the underground Launch Control Center. A five-person crew lived there around the clock, ready to fire the missile. Once fired, the Atlas stored here was capable of reaching the Soviet Union in 43 minutes.

This missile site was attached to the 577th Strategic Missile Squadron at Altus Air Force Base. All 12 Altus-area missiles were put on alert during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. On March 25, 1965, the 577th SMS was inactivated.
The Atlas Missile program was a national security priority under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. The Willow Atlas Missile site played a crucial role in the nation's Cold War nuclear arsenal from 1962 to 1965.

This marker was provided by the Charles T. and Mary Ellen Doyle Family.

Note: This marker is damaged.

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The Battle of Saint Etienne France by the Infantry Division on October 8, 1918

Greer County
Location: Veterans Park 410 N. Main, Granite OK
Material: Aluminum
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Government; Military

The 36th Infantry Division was organized by combining the Oklahoma and Texas National Guards. Sixty men that volunteered from Old Greer County were kept together and placed in the 132nd Machine Gun Battalion in that Division. On October 8th, 1918, these men fought on Hill 140 at Saint Etienne France. The Division suffered 1,300 casualties in the first day of fighting, which was the single day highest casualty rate of the war. After three days of heavy fighting, the enemy began to retreat, and one month later, the war came to an end on November 11, 1918.
Fifty-five other men from Old Greer County fought in the same battle with the 141st and 142nd Infantry Regiments of the 36th Division. One of these soldiers, Sergeant Samuel Sampler from Mangum, received the Medal of Honor for his action on Hill 140 as he fought alongside his fellow Doughboys from Southwest Oklahoma. These men were from Granite, Mangum, Blake, Reed, Willow, Duke, Eldorado, Gould, Hollis, Victory, Vinson, Blair, Altus, Elmer, Headrick, Martha, Olustee and Delhi.
This marker is dedicated on the Centennial of this historic World War I battle by American Legion Post 121 from Mangum and the City of Granite.

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First Shelterbelt

Greer County
Location: on OK-34A southeast of Willow
Topics: Agriculture; Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Environmental/Cultural Ecology; Government

As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's program to stabilize blowing topsoil in the Dust Bowl, the Prairie States Forestry Project coordinated the planting of wide belts of trees from North Dakota to Texas. The first shelterbelt in the nation was planted on the H. E. Curtis farm near Mangum on March 18, 1935. For the next seven years more than 18,000 miles of shelterbelts were planted, including nearly 3,000 miles in Oklahoma.

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Giants of the Great Plains

Greer County
Location: in Granite, Oklahoma only 38 minutes south of Elk City or 30 minutes north of Altus
Material: Granite
Topics: American Indians; Arts; Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Social/Cultural

Will Rogers (face, 30' wide and 28' tall) was dedicated November 10, 1979, in recognition of Rogers' 100th birthday anniversary. This giant mosaic is comprised of 195 two-foot-square granite panels.

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Lake Creek

Greer County
Location: on county road, two miles west of OK-6 north of Granite
Material: Granite
Topics: Agriculture; Education; Environmental/Cultural Ecology; Ethnic Diversity; Government; Religion/Philosophy; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Transportation

Pioneers settled the Lake Creek area beginning in 1898. The consolidated Lake Creek School served area children until 1957. The community included the oldest church in Greer County, the Lake Creek Baptist Church, founded in 1888.

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Lugert

Greer County
Location: on OK-44 near Lugert grain elevator

Frank Lugert, an Austrian immigrant, ran the post office, train depot, and general store in the town he founded after the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation opened for settlement in 1901. The town thrived until it was destroyed by a tornado in 1912. The original townsite is now covered by the waters of Lake Altus-Lugert.

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Old Greer County

Greer County
Location: on courthouse grounds in Mangum
Material: Granite
Topics: Government; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

The North Fork of the Red River was originally the northern boundary of Spanish territory after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The area between the North Fork and the main stream of the Red River became Greer County, Texas. However, in 1896, the US Supreme Court ruled that the main branch of the river was the northern boundary of Texas and Old Greer County became part of Oklahoma Territory.

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