The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

GRAND LAKE TOWNE.

A small, incorporated residential area on the shore of Grand Lake O' the Cherokees (locally known as Grand Lake), Grand Lake Towne is in extreme northeastern Mayes County, approximately two miles north of Langley. It is also one and one-half miles south of State Highway 85. Grand Lake Towne is situated in a rural area on the lakeshore and is accessed by a county road leading south from Ketchum. The community's name is drawn from the popular name given to the lake. In 1940 the Grand River Dam Authority finished the construction of the Pensacola Dam, creating the lake. The location's recreation opportunities and privacy attracted a few people to build homes there. In October 1961 voters, by a vote of six to zero, elected to incorporate the town, which the Mayes Board of County Commissioners declared legal the next month. By 1962 Grand Lake Towne's developers were advertising throughout Oklahoma, offering lots in the lakeside addition. In 1965 Clem McSpadden introduced an Oklahoma Senate Resolution that confirmed the town's incorporation. The 1970 census registered 23 residents, a number that climbed to 58 in 1990. In 2000 the population stood at 65, and by 2010 it had risen to 74. In April 2020 the census reported 79 inhabitants.

Larry O'Dell