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 Frontier Train Robbery - Pocasset, Oklahoma Posted by:  hamquilter
N 35° 11.738 W 097° 57.183
14S E 595309 N 3895240
Like many towns in the early days of Oklahoma, Pocasset was the site of a train robbery.
Waymark Code: WM14EB4
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2021
Views: 3
"Named for a village in Massachusetts, POCASSET, 137.3m. (1197 alt., 128 pop.) was the point at which Al Jennings - successively lawyer, train robber, convict, candidate for governor of Oklahoma, amateur evangelist, and author - once led his gang in the holdup of a train. In attempting to blow open the safe in the baggage and express car, the job was bungled and the whole car blown up. Not wanting to go away empty handed, Al and his fellows robbed the passengers of jewelry and some $400 in cash; then, salvging from the wrecked car a bunch of bananas and a two-gallon jug of whiskey, they rode away."
In 1892, the CRI&P railroad built a line from Minco to the Texas state line. Pocasset was a location on the line known as Siding No. 1. In 1901, it was decided to build a townsite. The area was agricultural, and the railroad offered availability to ship goods to all surrounding areas. In 1918, the town had a population of 350. Over the years, things declined and in 1968, the schools consolidated with the town of Amber. In 1998, the town became incorporated. Its current popular in approximately 158.
There is no downtown today, and the town offices are located in a building which also houses the community center. The coordinates above are for the post office at 130 N. Main (Highway 81), which is likely the original building from 1901. The railroad tracks with the siding are located about a block east of the post office. There was no depot.
Book: Oklahoma
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 373-374
Year Originally Published: 1941
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