Roger Mills County

Roger Mills County

County seat - Cheyenne  / County population per 2000 Census - 3,436

Next stop on our journey is Roger Mills county which is named for the prominent politician of the same name.   He was born in Kentucky, lived in Texas, was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was a Confederate officer, and served as a US senator for Texas.  So why he gets a county in Oklahoma is news to me.  Someone out there I'm sure can answer that question for me.

We entered into the county from Beckham County to the south after our long drive out to Arizona and back for Spring Break.  As we crossed into Oklahoma we decided that we wanted to snag at least one more western county.  The only problem was that we were also racing against the sunset.  The fabled photographers "magic hour"  was upon us and would be going quickly away.  I managed to catch a field just starting to turn green as the sun was dipping into the horizon for the night.  I wasn't sure I was going to get any useful photos but in the end I was pleased with the resulting photo.

Next we headed north again to visit the small county seat of Cheyenne.  Had we arrived back in the state sooner we would have loved to visit the Washita National Grasslands and the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site.  The site recognizes the attack by Lt. Col. Custer on the Cheyenne encampment of Peace Chief Black Kettle.  Yes, the same Custer of Little Big Horn fame.  While not a high moment in our state or national history we must learn from the mistakes of our past.  Another lesson learned on the Black Kettle grasslands was the Dust Bowl.  This area of rolling hills and wooded valleys was extremely hard hit by over farming and stripped top soil in the 30's and 40s'.

As always thanks for visiting and viewing, come back soon as we will be featuring new county photos and visits for Pottawatomie, Lincoln, and more soon.