Illinois Bend School

The community began in 1862, when a few families from Illinois settled here; it was first called Wardville, for landowner C. M. Ward. The Handbook of Texas says an Indian attack wiped out the settlement in 1863. It recovered, and by 1885 Illinois Bend had 300 people, two gristmills, several cotton gins, a school and several churches. Bypassed by the railroads, it fell to 112 by 1910 and to sixty-eight by the late 1940s, when one business remained. Its post office closed sometime after 1930, and by 2000 thirty people lived here.

What the plaque says

Located in the bend of the Red River in northeast Montague County, Illinois Bend received an official title in 1877. By the 1890s, Illinois Bend was a thriving community where cotton farming swelled the population. Many churches and schools were conducted in private homes prior to 1845 when the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas set aside provisions to aid local lodges in erecting educational buildings. In January 1893, a Masonic building for fraternal, educational and spiritual purposes was erected here. During the week, the lower level was used as a one room school and a church on Sundays. The original name of the school district was Valley Branch School District No. 14 due to the location near the branch which feeds into the Red River. Over time, it became known as Illinois Bend School District no. 14. All age levels were taught in the same room and the first teacher was W.O. Edwards. There was no electricity or plumbing in the school until 1945 so outhouses were erected behind the building. The lower portion of the building was also the social center of the community, hosting reunions, wedding receptions and other group activities. With the onset of WWII, the school closed in 1944. Church services in the lower level ceased in the 1920s with the establishment of local churches. In 1968, the building was no longer used on a regular basis; however, an Illinois Bend community homecoming was held each fall and continues today. The building was refurbished by the Illinois Bend Community Club in 1987 and is a remnant of the community partnerships formed with the help of the masonic lodge. (2014)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Stonewall Saloon Museum — 13 mi
  Saint Jo's first permanent building, a stone saloon of 1873 with rooms upstairs for trail drovers, in a town named, the story goes, as a joke on a founder who did not drink.
• Lake Murray State Park — 26 mi
  Oklahoma's first and largest state park, built by New Deal crews on former Chickasaw Nation land south of Ardmore, with Tucker Tower, a governors' retreat never finished, on a point above the lake.

More markers nearby

• Site of the 1759 Taovayo Victory Over Spain — 8.7 mi
• Spanish Fort — 8.7 mi
• Town of Saint Jo — 13 mi
• North Nocona Oil Field - Montague County Oil Discovery, 1922 — 13 mi