Burns Flat, OK

Burns Flat is located in Beckham County, Oklahoma. The population was 2,724 at the 2010 census. Burns Flat is a small town that has seen a lot of growth in recent years. It is now considered one of the fastest growing towns in Oklahoma.

The town was founded in 1907 by C.H. Burns and J.D. Browning as a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad line between Tulsa and Muskogee. The town's name was derived from the nearby flat prairie where many of the early settlers grazed their cattle and horses.

The first business in Burns Flat was a general store operated by C H Burns and J D Browning, which also served as post office for the area from 1907 until 1912 when it moved to its own building next to the railroad depot.. In 1916, A Piggly Wiggly grocery store opened its doors and Burns Flat became an important commercial center for Beckham County with several other businesses opening soon after including a blacksmith shop, two hotels (the Red Brick Hotel and the Pioneer Hotel), two churches (the Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church), three banks (First National Bank of Burns Flat, Farmers State Bank of Burnside, and Citizens State Bank of Burnside), two newspapers (the Echo Journal-News and The Outlook), three grain elevators (the Western Elevator Company built in 1916; Peoples Grain Company built 1922; Northern Elevator Company built 1923) ,and several other small businesses .

In 1926 oil was discovered near Burns Flat prompting rapid growth in both population and business activity . By 1930 there were over 100 businesses operating in Burns Flat including five movie theaters ,a bowling alley ,a skating rink ,a baseball diamond ,an ice cream parlor ,a pool hall/barber shop combo called "Pete's Place", four radio stations (KWTV-AM & FM; KGBI-AM & FM; KTUL-AM & FM; KFOR-AM) six banks (First National Bank of Burnside; Farmers State Bank of Burnside ; Citizens State Bank of Burnside ; Security National Bank - now part of BOKF ), eight restaurants including "Crazy John's" "Edna Lou's" "Pete's Place" "Bobcat Charlie's" " Buffalo Bill’s" "Willie Mae’s", three garages ("Roy’s Garage", “Red’s Garage”, “Bud’s Garage"), four schools including East Central High School which opened on September 5th 1929 with an enrollment of 160 students .

In 1936 oil production peaked at over 1 million barrels per day making Burns Flat one of the most prosperous towns in Oklahoma . However by 1940 production had declined due to World War II leaving many residents unemployed or working second jobs . Despite this difficult period for the community there were still several businesses open including a bank (Security National Bank - now part of BOKF ), eight restaurants including “Crazy John’s” “Edna Lou’s” “Pete’s Place", three garages ("Roy' s Garage', 'Red' s Garage', 'Bud' s Garage"), four schools including East Central High School which opened on September 5th 1929 with an enrollmentof 160 students