Town file
Seiling, Oklahoma
Seiling, Oklahoma (Dewey County, Oklahoma) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 535, "Murder Bones Mystery" (10 October 2024).
- Town
- Seiling
- County
- Dewey County
- State
- Oklahoma
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 535
- Approximate location
- 36.145, -98.925
Episode 535 / 10 October 2024 / 168 min / full
Murder Bones Mystery
"Sealing, Oklahoma, in Dewey County, the crossroads of northwest Oklahoma" about 0:06:23
The case: Murder of Janet Dennis (December 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 912
- Median age
- about 35 and a half
- Median household income
- $45,368 a year
- Median home value
- $123,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $810
- Religious
- 80.7%
- Property crime
- ▼ about one third below
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one third
History, in brief
- Developed as an agricultural centre and became the largest town in Dewey County even though the railroad did not come; the railroad went to Canton, more than 25 miles away. about 0:06:42
- There were no bridges across either of the Canadian rivers until 1906. about 0:07:02
- A horse racing track was built in 1903, before the bridges. about 0:07:21
- Lands assigned to the Choctaw and Seminole tribes extended into the area now occupied by Dewey County. about 0:07:38
- Under the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 the Choctaw and Chickasaw ceded their western domain to the United States. about 0:07:46
- The area was known as the Leased District, and part of it became the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation. about 0:07:55
- Dewey County was created in Oklahoma Territory in 1891 and opened to non-Indian settlement on April 19th, 1892. about 0:08:08
- It was named County D by an act of Congress and did not receive its present name until residents voted on it years later. about 0:08:23
- Farms were heavy producers of cotton and broomcorn. about 0:08:50
- There was a cotton gin and a feed mill in the early years. about 0:09:14
- Wheat and rye became important; after the First World War the Fred Sander Flour Mill opened and made White Rose Special Flour. about 0:09:21
- The milling company is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. about 0:09:32
- After the war agriculture declined and by 1920 many people left, yet the population rose from 1920 to 1930 during the dust bowl years. about 0:09:49
The reviews read out
5 stars
"One of the most amazing places; the reviewer has witnessed first hand what the town does for people and how everyone comes together in a time of need for friends and families."about 0:10:35
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Woodward, Oklahoma33 miles
- Okarche, Oklahoma61 miles
- Enid, Oklahoma62 miles
- Mustang, Oklahoma85 miles
- Chickasha, Oklahoma94 miles
- Kingman, Kansas113 miles
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.