On May 1, 1908, Oklahoma Governor Charles Haskell issued a proclamation ordering an election on July 10, 1908, in Marshall County to determine whether Madill or Kingston should be declared the county seat. With that proclamation, a bitter fight began in Marshall County—a fight that divided the county, damaged relationships between various communities, drove a wedge between friends and led to a rivalry that still exists.
The two sides began pointing fingers at each other almost immediately after the proclamation was issued, trying to affix blame for the dispute. Madill blamed Kingston, and Kingston blamed Madill. Each townthentooktheirgrievances to the people of the county who werenotcitizensofeithertown.
As reported last week, a significant issue in dispute between Madill and Kingston was which town was closer to the county’s geographic center. Thispointdeterminedwhether moving the county seat from Madill to Kingston would require a simple majority or a super-majority vote. Because Kingston was closer to the geographic center, a simple majority was all that was necessary for Kingston to prevail. This concerned those supporting Madill as the county seat. This concern brought about an effort on Madill’s part to blame Kingston for the situation…