The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

SHAMROCK.

The town of Shamrock is situated in west-central Creek County on State Highway 16 south of the junction of State Highways 33 and 99. Located approximately thirty-two miles from the county seat of Sapulpa, Shamrock received a postal designation on July 9, 1910, and was named by James M. Thomas for his hometown in Illinois. In 1908 Thomas had come to the Shamrock area from Parkland, Lincoln County, Oklahoma Territory (O.T.) and had established a store at the crossroads of an old cattle trail (possibly the West Shawnee Trail) and roads that diverged into O.T. At that time workers building an Oklahoma Natural Gas pipeline through the area brought the first prosperity to Shamrock. Other businesses soon opened. However, Shamrock received its greatest economic boost during the oil-boom years of the Drumright-Cushing Field.

Between 1915 and 1916 the Sapulpa and Oil Fields Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) built a line northward from Depew to Shamrock. The railroad depot building was painted green with white trim and had a shamrock (three-leaf clover) painted over the town's name. Because the railroad bypassed the town by three-quarters of a mile, citizens moved their establishments to the southeast, closer to the tracks. Most buildings were situated on the main street, Tipperary Road. Other streets had Irish names such as Dublin, Killarney, Blarney, and Cork. After the railroads arrived, Shamrock developed as a shipping point for oil-field equipment and crude oil. In 1930 the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (SL&SF) completed a line north to Tydol, just south of Drumright.

The Shamrock Townsite Company sold the first town lot in November 1915. The Shamrock Brogue newspaper was first published on January 1, 1916, and the Shamrock Blarney was first printed on March 9, 1916. Both were succeeded by the Creek County Democrat. By January 1, 1916, the town had approximately thirty buildings and amenities included gas, water, and telephones. The Citizens State Bank and the First State Bank had opened, and citizens passed a fifteen-thousand-dollar bond to construct a brick school building. On March 17, 1916, approximately five thousand participants observed the first St. Patrick's Day celebration. In honor of the event an 11,500 pound sandstone, quarried from a bluff at Spring Creek approximately five miles south of town, became a blarney stone. In addition to the oil and gas industry, the economy was supplemented by agriculture. In September 1916 the cotton gin processed approximately twenty-six wagonloads of cotton a day. A gin continued in operation into the mid-1950s.

During the oil boom the population fluctuated between ten and fifteen thousand. However, as the boom gradually subsided the population declined, as indicated by a recorded 1,409 in 1920 and 777 in 1930. The numbers dropped from 461 in 1940 to 204 in 1970. Due to waning economy and population, the railroad abandoned its line in October 1957, and the school closed in 1961. The 1980 and 1990 federal censuses reported 218 and 95, respectively. At the turn of the twenty-first century Shamrock had a population of 125. In 2010 it had dropped to 101. Its citizens continued to support an annual St. Patrick's Day parade. Due to financial difficulties, in June 2010 the town's governing body voted to disincorporate, and in 2020 the town had 65 residents.

Linda D. Wilson