Bartlesville Public Library

A new book collection about the Hulah area is available from the Caney Valley Historical Society. Ivan Pfalser writes in the December 24, 2008 Good News: "Joe Glenn, retired Bartlesville Police Detective, has recently published his 'Brief History of Hulah, Oklahoma, Osage County and Surrounding Area.' I have kidded Joe about the word 'brief' in the title of his book which comes to an estimated 500 pages in two volumes. Admittedly, the town of Hulah was rather brief in time and size, but his story covers much more. Actually, the book covers a cross section across Osage County from the town of Ralston northeastward into Washington County to Caney following the Santa Fe Railroads Pawhuska Branch."

Part I: The history of Hulah, Oklahoma and surrounding area;
Part II: Maps of Hulah, Oklahoma and surrounding area;
Part III: School Census records for the Hulah, Carpenter and Bowring Schools.

The books include various maps, drawings, photographs and many stories of local families and events. The story of the building of the Santa Fe Railroad from Caney, Kansas to Ralston, Oklahoma is related in details and maps.

The Local and Family History Library has recently acquired a copy of these manuscripts as a gift from the author which are being cataloged to add to the collection. The books can also be reviewed at the Caney Valley Historical Society Museum in Caney, Kansas, the Chautauqua County Historical Society Museum in Sedan, Kansas, the Pawhuska Public Library, and the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska.

Anyone wishing to purchase a copy may do so by contacting Ivan Pfalser, 1988 CR 1425, Caney, KS 67333 (620 879-2928) or the Caney Valley Historical Society, 310 W. 4th Ave., Caney, KS (620 879-5131). The cost of the set is $100 (no tax)plus $4.00 for shipping and media mail. The first edition is limited to 60 copies.

Arkansas is a public domain land state whose land once belonged to the federal government. The federal government gave 8,600,000 acres, or roughly 1/4th of the total land in Arkansas, to the State of Arkansas to sell at reduced prices as swamp and overflowed lands which can be found in nearly all of 75 Arkansas counties.

Until now, the only record of these swamp land sales have been in chronological and geographical ledgers in the State Land Commissioners office at the Capitol Building in Little Rock. Desmond Walls Allen has recently published books of the Arkansas Swamp Land Sales from as early as 1855 to 2001. Indexes of these sales can be viewed at: www.arkansasresearch.com/dessland.html by clicking on the time period and volume desired and then searching in alphabetical order by name. Some sales are for thousands of acres; others for only an acre or two.

Allen's published indexes list the patentees' names, the patent date, patent and application numbers, land description (section, range, and township), number of acres, citation to the land office ledger and notes about assignees, partners, attorneys, heirs, etc. The web address only allows access to names of the patentees in the volume, but might be a clue to Arkansas land records previously difficult to locate.