This is a beautiful granite memorial donated by local Rocky businesses which tells the story of this community from its founding in 1897. Rocky is a small town of about 160 residents, located 11 miles southwest of Cordell in Washita County. When the first to settlers gathered rock to build a small store, the local Indians began referring to it as the Rocky Man Store, and the name Rocky was chosen when the post office opened in 1898. The monument is located at the site of the Rocky Public School which once stood here and was open from 1904 to 1967. Today, all that remains in the WPA-built gymnasium nearby.
In large letters the monument is titled ROCKY SCHOOL MEMORIAL. It lists the names of the Committee members who put this together, as well as the local contributors. On the back are the names of approximately 420 students who were educated at the school. Five lighter colored panels record history of the Rocky Public School, the Orange Blossom School, the original Rock Store, the State Bank of Rocky, the town of Rocky, and the Rocky Cooperative. Pictures of several of these items are engraved alongside their story. This is quite an amazing memorial for such a little town. They are obviously extremely proud of their heritage.
ROCKY COOPERATIVE - The Rocky Farmers Cooperative, Inc. was organized in 1920 and official name selected was Farmers Cooperative Grain and Supply Co. Organizers chose the location of the Co-Op to be placed near the railroad track that was laid through Rocky in 1902. The Co-Op offers many services to their customers as well as serves as a gathering place for people to enjoy conversations and share ideas. Over the past years the Co-Op has expanded to include the cotton gin, a feed mill, and a gas station. Millions of bushels of grain have passed through the Co-Op to make it the oldest business still in operation since farming has prevailed as a livelihood with many people in the area. This Co-Op has proved to be a business venture success for all those involved in agriculture as well as everyone in the community.
THE STATE BANK OF ROCKY - In May 1902, F. C. Finerty was granted a charter from the State of Oklahoma and opened the State Bank of Rocky with 5000 in capital stock. Tthe first loans were negotiated, and deposits were taken over the top of a tool chest in the office of Graves Lumber Co. while the new bank building was under construction. The McAtee family had ownership during the Panic of 1907 but the bank remained sound with $110 for every dollar deposited. In 1910, the bank changed ownership again with Walter B. Stephens as President. Plans were made for a larger fireproof building with modern banking equipment. The new bank building was said to be the best building of ts size in Washita County and the only building except the courthouse to be considered fireproof. In the 1950's Fred and LeRoy Bunch became the majority stockholders until January 1977 when the bank was sold to Ronald J. Grubb. The State Bank of Rocky is one of the only two banks located in Washita County that survived the Panic of 1907, the Depression of the 1930's and the oil bust of the 1980's. In October of 1998 the bank charter was moved to Cordell and the name changed to the Bank of Cordell making the Rocky location a branch. The institution was the oldest state bank in Washita County. In the early 2000's the Rocky bank building began to show weakness in the foundation and the bank was determined to be unsafe. The location of the State Bank of Rocky was closed on September 11, 2003 and the building was later torn down.
ROCKY PUBLIC SCHOOL - In 1904 Rocky Public School was assigned to be District #6 of Washita County. District #6 consolidated the small rural schools of Lone Star, Mount Zion, Little Hope, Shiloh, Center, Pleasant Home, Mt. Pleasant, Rainey, Center Point and Cocklebur. With Orange Blossom they created Rocky Public School. The first school building was a wooden two-story structure built in the new town city limits and served until it was destroyed by fire. A new two-story school building was built in 1907 with additions added in 1909. The second building was eventually torn down and replaced with this brick building in 1926. The building remained until the school was closed and a part of the original school campus still stands at present. In 1945, WPA workers added the gymnasium to the existing building and the rock used was quarried from a farm near town. Levels of education at Rocky consisted of Grades 1 through 12 from its opening to closure. Through the doors of this school have passed many outstanding and well-known scholars and citizens. These students have served their country, their families and community with pride. The Buffaloes of Rocky Public School roamed these halls until it was closed in May 1967 due to lack of attendance and funding. May the memories created within this building and this proud community live on in our hearts forever. This memorial was dedicated April 2, 2005.
ORANGE BLOSSOM - The first official Rocky school known as Orange Blossom was organized in 1897. The house was located on a farm one mile south of Rocky and represented the school, the pulpit and the press. Most of the people in the new settlement lived in "dug-outs", so organizers hauled the lumber for the school house from over 100 miles away. Within this house, the first formal education was taught, the first sermon was preached and the first newspaper was printed above ground. After the area schools were consolidated and the newspaper moved to town, the building was used as a warehouse for the Rocky Hardware and Grocery Company.
HISTORY OF ROCKY - In 1897, W. F. Schultz brought his family and located in the "new county" of Washita which had been opened to white settlement in 1892. At this time there was an average of one person to every section of land but no store or post office in many miles. Recognizing the opportunity, Schultz and his partner John Riffe pooled their meager assets and engaged in the mercantile business in the absence of a town site. They built a store out of undressed rocks. The rock for the building was quarried by hand and hard work from a limeestone ledge seven miles southeast of the future town site and hauled to the location in a wagon. The two men built the structure themselves by putting the rocks together with mud they mixed from dirt. The store proved to be very popular not only with the white settlers but with the Indians in the area who called Mr. Schultz "the rock store man." When application was made for a post office to be located in the store, Mr. Schultz suggested "Rocky" after finding only one other town by that name in the United States postal records, although the name was misleading and had nothing to do with the surrounding environment. The name was approved because of its location in the building known as the "Rock Store". Later a town was plotted just to the south of the store and took the name of Rocky as did the railroad depot when it was erected in 1902. The town of Rocky was officially opened and dedicated in April, 1898.