The Wewoka Switch is the name of a switching station with side tracks running about a half-mile in either direction of the depot. This was an area where east and west traveling trains could bypass each other. Before Oklahoma Statehood, it was the only such switching station between Oklahoma City and Little Rock. It was a major destination point for merchandise, and oilfield equipment coming into the area during the 1920's oil boom, to be picked up locally by wagon. The siding tracks are still in existence, however foliage has grown up around them and access in some cases is through a private company's property.
The polished black granite marker has an engraving of the original depot and tells the chaotic story of this switching station. It reads:
"In the late 1880's, the Oklahoma Choctaw & Gulf Railroad laid their first area siding, or switching point in Wewoka, Indian Territory. At that time, Wewoka was a good sized trading post and settlement. Merchants, trader and businessmen from a radius of 35 miles ordered their goods and supplies and had them shipped via railroad to the new siding dubbed "the Wewoka Switch" by the locals.
"In the early 1920's oil was discovered southeast of Wewoka and virtually overnight the small settlement became a busy city, teeming with oilfield workers. All types of oilfield equipment, such as pipe, casing, drilling rigs and other supplies flooded this local siding. Adding to the confusion, every local merchant began to double, triple and even quadruple their stock orders to keep up with the needs of the new Wewoka settlement. The population jumped from 2,500 to over 12,000 in a few short months.
Soon lost freight bills, inadequate telephone service, and cramped railroad facilities contributed to growing congestion at the Switch. Everyone and everything was rushed, pushed and confused. Thousands of freight shipments bound for different destinations and thought to be in transit were found hidden at the Wewoka Switch. Upon being questioned by customers about late or missing orders, many merchants' standard reply and excuse was, "Yes, I have it, but it is in the Wewoka Switch" meaning that they had been unable to track the merchandise and were caught in a "tight spot."
The situation became so common that the Rock Island Railroad Company adopted a policy of searching the Wewoka Switch for all "lost in transit" merchandise before searching anywhere else. There was even a rubber stamp stating "Search Wewoka Switch" applied to the paperwork for all lost shipments.
The expression "I'm caught in the Wewoka Switch" grew to imply that one suddenly found himself in a bind or a trying situation. The expression became standard among oilfield workers and promoters alike. In later years these oilmen, drillers and roughnecks, moving throughout the world in search of new and bigger oil discoveries, carried the expression "I'm caught in the Wewoka Switch" with them until its use and meaning became universal."
The Wewoka Switch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.