There was nothing sophisticated about Boise City. In fact, it was barely even habitable. Maybe that’s what made the town so special. The original settlers—men like William Mayfield—refused to believe they’d been duped. Call it stubbornness, call it arrogance, call it whatever you will. Arriving here and finding no amenities and no culture, they could have left. Cimarron County wasn’t exactly welcoming. But they dug in, stuck it out, and created something out of nothing.
Boise City was created out of false pretenses. In 1908, J.E. Stanley, A.J. Kline, and W.T. Douglas, under the guise of the Southwestern Immigration and Development Company, sent out brochures advertising plots for sale in a new town in Oklahoma. Pictures showed rivers, paved streets, plentiful trees, three railroads, and numerous houses and businesses. The men ended up selling over 3,000 lots, mostly to settlers in the midwest looking to expand westward. The only problem was the advertisements were completely false. There was no river, no railroads, no trees, and very few houses and businesses. In addition, Stanley, Kline, and Douglas didn't actually own the land they had sold. The men were ultimately convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison. Despite this, Boise City, rather than withering, ended up growing and developing into a town of nearly 2,000 people by the 1920's.
