Founding of Ada, “Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation”

Pontotoc County · northwest of the intersection of West Main Street and South Stockton Avenue in Ada

Ada was established in 1890 on lands acquired from Chickasaw and Choctaw citizens by William Jefferson Reed, who built a log store and dwelling near present Fourth Street and Oak Avenue. A post office was established on July 10, 1891, and named for Reed’s oldest daughter, Ada. The city was incorporated in 1901 and became the county seat of Pontotoc County at statehood in 1907. Railway transportation, the establishment of present East Central University, and the procurement of a water supply from Byrd’s Mill set the stage for the town’s economic and cultural growth into “The Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation.”

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Oklahoma Historical Society, Historical Marker Program. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's marker database, reproduced with the Society's written permission.
Sponsored by Dr. Marvin Kroeker and the Oklahoma Historical Society
This marker on the program's own site

Founding of Ada, “Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation”

More markers nearby