Belle Starr Queen of Outlaws and frontier romance
Middleton recalls Belle Starr born 1846 in Missouri. The legendary outlaw famed for horse skills, dancing, and fearless crime linked to the Indian Territory era. Her life wove with Jim Reed, Tom Starr, and a wave of banditry, robberies, and daring escapes across Oklahoma and Texas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Middleton
Belle Starr
Oklahoma
Texas
Carthage
Missouri
John
Ebba Shirley
Shirley
Belle
Quan
Belle Starr's Cedar Hut and the Younger Bend Refuge
The outlaws Belle Starr and Sam built a cedar hut settling at Younger Bend. The site, named by Belle, became a retreat where the James and Younger brothers reportedly visited. A cedar brake, river, wild grape vines, peavines, and a canyon with a cave lay nearby as refuge for outlaw allies during Taw pressure.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Starr
Sam
Belle
Henry Starr
Arkansas
James
Youngers
Younger Bend
Merry
Younger Brothers
Spaniard outlaw bandit shoots officer during escape
The Spaniard, an outlaw later hanged for the killing of federal peace officer Bill Erwin, shot him as they crossed the Canadian river while escorting bandit Felix Griffin to Fort Smith. The hound left at Younger Bend later led to the dog’s capture and return to Starr cabin. A pursuing crowd pursued justice as Jim Middleton hunted for years with a reward on his son. Belle, a Dallas horse trader, ran a gambling house and stable amid mounting danger and jail time.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jack
Bill Erwin
Bend
Griffin
Webber Falls
Hig Chance
Starr Cabin
Fort Smith
Jim Middleton
Belle
Dallas
Young Adventuress
Belle Starr
House of Correction
Detroit
Michigan
Isaac C. Parker
Arkansas
Andrew Crone
Pearl
Edward
Dardanelle
John, West
Texas
Duncan
Poteau River
Middleton
Paris
John
Okmulgee
Little Cedar
Wilds
Oklahoma
Okmulgee Bank
Belle Starr and bandit gang on the Arkansas frontier
The 1880s saga follows Belle Starr and her gang led by Pearl Starr and Jim Middleton. After a prison sentence in Detroit, they resume crime across Arkansas and Indian Territory. A river drowning ends Middleton, triggering a chase by federal and state marshals as they rob Okmulgee and plot against Grant Johnson, a U.S. marshal.
End of an Era As Belle Starr Legend Fades in Younger Bend
Middleton recalls primeval days in Younger Bend and the Belle Starr era as time passes. Sam Starr and Belle Starr are dead, West and others perished in gunfights, and John Middleton, a World War II veteran now in Muskogee, reflects on changing outlaw lore and the gentler dangers faced by modern sheriffs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sam Starr
Suratt
Cooper Suratt
Whitefield
Belle
Sam
Fort Smith
Frank Weat
West
Tom Starr
Younger Bend
Edgar Watson
Florida
Pearl
John Middleton
Mont Middleton
United States Veteran’s Hospital No
Belle Starr
Sheriffs of
Oklahoma
Altus Meter Expansion Signals Growing City Population
In Altus the operation of 2,844 electric meters and 2,032 water meters marks monthly increases of nineteen and seven respectively, reflecting a growing population and expanding utility services.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Altus
Matilda Lockhart Ledred Bond With Indian Chief After 1838 Capture
In 1830s Texas near Gonzales five Putnam children were seized by Comanche Indians. Matilda Lockhart, thirteen, was taken to the war chief and later became his wife and mother of his children. Years later a crumbling treaty freed two siblings, while Matilda chose to remain. The tale traces pursuit, captivity, and a bond lasting beyond her white family origins.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gonzales
Texas
Matilda Lockhart
Mitchell Putnam
Guadalupe River
Putnam
Jimmy
Comal
Matilda
Pecan Grove
Mattie
Jimmy Putnam
Chenault
Missouri
Pecsn
Gil
Also Mentioned on This Page
Alabama
United States
Bucks
Daltons
Jennings
Boys
Starrs
Muskogee County
Middletons
American
Jim Reed
Los Angeles
California
Golden West
Indian Territory
Reed
Tepee
Watt Grayson
Grayson
Resist
Fon ‘Jimms
Paltney
Pioneer
Jim
Grant Johnson
Gorka
Belle Start
Grant
John Kon
Eufaula
Gretchen Smith
Comal River
New Braunfela
San
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!