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Charles Colcord: From Chisholm Trail Cowboy to Oklahoma City's First Sheriff

A Kentucky-born trail hand who policed the 1889 Land Run city and then helped build it with banks, oil money and a twelve-story tower.

Who Was Charles Francis Colcord?

Charles Francis Colcord was a cattleman, lawman, banker, oilman and civic leader whose life ran from the Texas brush country to the streets of Oklahoma City. Born August 18, 1859, on a plantation near Cane Ridge, Paris, Kentucky, he died December 10, 1934, at his ranch in Delaware County, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame calls him Oklahoma's "First Citizen."

His record is unusual because it spans open-range cattle work, frontier law enforcement and big-city development. The Oklahoma Historical Society's encyclopedia entry is the best single summary of how those pieces connect.

Learning Cattle on the Texas Coast and the Chisholm Trail

Colcord's parents were Maria Elizabeth Clay and William Rogers Colcord, a Confederate colonel. After the Civil War the family moved to a sugar plantation north of New Orleans, where Charles got little formal schooling and caught malaria. He was then sent to a family friend's ranch near Corpus Christi, Texas, where he learned to herd cattle by about age twelve.

In 1876 he and his father drove a herd up the Chisholm Trail through Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas. The family settled near Medicine Lodge in Comanche County. His father founded the Jug Cattle Company and later helped form the Comanche Pool, which controlled about 60,000 cattle. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum says the pool collapsed under drought and harsh winters, and that the setback pushed Colcord toward Oklahoma.

The 1889 Land Run and Law Enforcement

Colcord married Harriet Scoresby in Kansas on February 9, 1885, and after a short stay near Flagstaff, Arizona, the couple moved to Oklahoma Territory. In the 1889 Land Run he staked a claim near Hennessey and sold it right away. He reached Oklahoma City on April 23, 1889.

He became the city's first police chief under its provisional government and, when Oklahoma County was organized in 1890, its first sheriff. He also served as a deputy U.S. marshal. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame adds that he ran the federal jail in Guthrie for five years. The museum's biography says his law work included action against outlaws such as the Dalton Gang.

From Cattleman to City Builder

After taking part in the 1893 Cherokee Outlet opening and claiming land in Perry, Colcord was back in Oklahoma City by 1898. He founded the Commercial National Bank of Oklahoma City and served as its first president. In 1902 he built a Classical Revival mansion at 421 West Thirteenth Street, modeled on his childhood home in Kentucky.

His stockyard connection came in 1909, when he and Anton H. Classen helped set up the city's first meatpacking firm at the Oklahoma City Stockyards through the Industrial District Company. He also helped build the Commerce Exchange Building and the Biltmore Hotel and developed neighborhoods including Orchard Park and the Parker-Colcord Addition.

Oil Money and the Colcord Building

Oil speculation, notably in the Glenn Pool field, paid for the twelve-story Colcord Building, completed in 1910 at a cost of $750,000, according to the encyclopedia. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame credits him and two partners with striking oil at Glenn Pool in 1905 and describes the tower as the city's first skyscraper, though it gives 1919 for that date, so sources differ on timing.

Between 1917 and 1920 he took part in developing the South Bend oil field in West Texas. In 1918 he organized the North American Oil and Refining Company and served as its president, and President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to the National Petroleum Conservation Board that year.

The Key to Colcord's Success

Colcord repeatedly turned one kind of experience into the next. Cattle handling taught him how to move into new territory, public office gave him name recognition, and oil speculation supplied the capital for downtown real estate.

The record is mostly civic and institutional, and it says little about his private finances, so these points are limited to what the sources document.

  • He moved fast on opportunity: he staked a claim in the 1889 Land Run, sold it immediately and went straight to Oklahoma City.
  • He took public office early: as first police chief and first sheriff, he became known across the new city and county.
  • He raised capital through banking: he founded the Commercial National Bank and served as its first president.
  • He turned oil profits into buildings: Glenn Pool speculation funded the Colcord Building in 1910.
  • He backed the capital move: in 1910 he joined other city leaders promoting the shift of the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City.

Public Service and Later Years

A Democrat, Colcord served as president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce in 1914. In the 1920s and 1930s he was president of the Oklahoma Historical Society. In his later years he built a ranch in Delaware County, and the town of Colcord there was named in his honor in February 1930.

He died there on December 10, 1934. A police honor guard accompanied his body as it lay in state at the Oklahoma Historical Society building, and he was buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City. He was survived by his wife and six children.

Honors and Where to Learn More

The Oklahoma Hall of Fame lists him in its class of 1929, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1959. See the museum's Hall of Great Westerners biography and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame profile for their summaries.

For more on the Southern Plains ranching era, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story from Oklahoma ranch country.

Timeline

  1. 1859Born August 18 near Paris, Kentucky
  2. 1876Drives cattle with his father up the Chisholm Trail to Caldwell, Kansas
  3. 1885Marries Harriet Scoresby in Kansas
  4. 1889Reaches Oklahoma City on April 23 during the Land Run; becomes first police chief
  5. 1890Becomes first sheriff of Oklahoma County
  6. 1902Builds his Classical Revival mansion at 421 West Thirteenth Street
  7. 1910Completes the twelve-story Colcord Building
  8. 1918Organizes North American Oil and Refining Company; appointed to the National Petroleum Conservation Board
  9. 1930The town of Colcord, Oklahoma, is named in his honor
  10. 1934Dies December 10 in Delaware County

Frequently asked questions

Who was Charles Colcord?

Charles Francis Colcord (1859-1934) was a Kentucky-born cattleman who became Oklahoma City's first police chief and Oklahoma County's first sheriff, then a banker, oil speculator and developer.

What is Charles Colcord known for?

He is known for his law enforcement role in early Oklahoma City, his oil investments in the Glenn Pool field, and for building the twelve-story Colcord Building, completed in 1910.

When was Colcord inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum lists his Hall of Great Westerners induction as 1959. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame lists him in its class of 1929.

Is the town of Colcord, Oklahoma, named after him?

Yes. The Oklahoma Historical Society says the town of Colcord in Delaware County was named in his honor in February 1930, near the ranch where he spent his later years.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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