Town file
Woodward, Oklahoma
Woodward, Oklahoma (Woodward County, Oklahoma) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 482, "Blaming My Imaginary Friend" (6 April 2024). In September 1974 Woodward, Oklahoma, a small oil town in western Oklahoma, was the scene of one of the worst crimes in Woodward County's history.
- Town
- Woodward
- County
- Woodward County
- State
- Oklahoma
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 482
- Approximate location
- 36.425, -99.405
Episode 482 / 6 April 2024 / 70 min / express
Blaming My Imaginary Friend
"We're headed this week to Woodward, Oklahoma, in western Oklahoma, the county right before the panhandle starts." about 0:03:01
The case: Murder of the Thrasher family (September 1974). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Median household income
- about $50,000 per year
- Median home value
- $143,600
History, in brief
- The city of Woodward was established in 1887. about 0:04:56
- It was founded at the junction of the Fort Reno military road and the Southern Kansas Railroad. about 0:05:01
- It sits on the south bank of the North Canadian River. about 0:05:17
- It became a big place to load cattle for shipment to eastern markets. about 0:05:22
- It is the county seat of Woodward County. about 0:05:30
- In 1893 it was known as one of the wildest towns in the west, with 23 saloons and 15 brothels on one street. about 0:05:37
- A resident said in 1944 that Woodward's eastern aggressiveness and western hospitality combined to enthrall you, and that it was the town you had been wishing for, dreaming of and looking for. about 0:06:13
- Its motto is 'Energy for life'. about 0:04:02
The reviews read out
5 stars
"It is a small town compared with Enid or Oklahoma City, but the reviewer loves the events on Main Street and the little downtown shops owned by good people."about 0:06:32
3 stars
"The reviewer calls the area one of the hottest spots in the nation for drug trafficking and says many police were caught smuggling drugs and firearms from the evidence locker. Their father, a local attorney, raised concerns; the family's house was set on fire and they received death threats, and the house was broken into several times."about 0:06:56
2 stars
"A small oil-driven town that is not seeing its best days and has a declining quality of life."about 0:08:47
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Seiling, Oklahoma33 miles
- Enid, Oklahoma85 miles
- Okarche, Oklahoma93 miles
- Kingman, Kansas110 miles
- Mustang, Oklahoma118 miles
- Wellington, Kansas125 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.