Town file

Depew, Oklahoma

Depew, Oklahoma (Creek County, Oklahoma) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 727, "Twilight Zone Of Death" (20 August 2026). In late September 2002 a man rode into Depew, Oklahoma, on a bicycle.

Town
Depew
County
Creek County
State
Oklahoma
Country
USA
Episodes
727
Approximate location
35.801, -96.511
N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Episode 727 / 20 August 2026 / 181 min / full

Twilight Zone Of Death

"Let's go to Depu, Oklahoma, DEP EW; eastern Oklahoma; this is in Creek County." about 0:05:59

The case: Murders of A.J. and Patsy Cantrell (October 18, 2003); Murder of Linda Cantrell (February 2005). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2026

Population
400
Median age
37.7
Median household income
$30,000
Median home value
$166,800
Two-bedroom rent
$840 a month
Cost of living
82
Religious
49%
Property crime
▼ about half of the average
Violent crime
▼ about one quarter beneath the national average

History, in brief

  • The area around Depew was originally within the Creek Nation, in Indian Territory. about 0:06:42
  • In 1896 the Indians were assigned land allotments and forced off their land to reservations so that homesteaders could settle the region. about 0:06:48
  • The land that would become Depew was first allotted to a Creek Indian woman named Lydia Barnett, who held the title to 115 acres. about 0:07:04
  • Less than six acres of that was reserved for the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad, and the small settlement that grew around the railway was called Hall. about 0:07:16
  • In 1901 a man named Walter F. Mally gave the town its current name, Depew, and opened a post office. about 0:07:30
  • Mally advertised the place for its good wildlife and timber, having bought the property for ten dollars an acre. about 0:07:42
  • The name came from New York Senator Chauncey Depew, and the Depew Investment Company plotted the town. about 0:08:02
  • The town still has its original 1920s Route 66 concrete running through the centre. about 0:08:27

The reviews read out

4 stars

"A great place to live with great people who love to interact with the school and make the town good for families; everyone knows everyone and it is centred on the school because there is nothing else in town."
about 0:09:04

Open the episode file

Nearest Small Town Murder towns

Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.