KENTON—Long before Oklahoma became a state, this little town popped up on the furthest edge of the Unassigned Lands not part of Oklahoma Territory nor Indian Territory also known as No Man’s Land.
Cattle ranchers, robbers, and roving explorers traversed the rugged terrain that formed from ancient volcanic lava flow interspersed with a southwest landscape of cacti blooms and sagebrush that eventually became Kenton.
The original township in 1886 was called Carrizo, since it was near the confluence of North Carrizo Creek and Cimarron River alongside the original 101 Ranch. Then it was renamed Florence in 1890 after one of the first postmaster’s daughters.
According to historian Jeffrey Schmidt in his book “Here Today: Oklahoma’s Ghost Towns, Vanishing Towns, and Towns Persisting Against the Odds,” circus master P.T. Barnum’s nephew Philo F.B. Drew laid out the current township on his homestead and adopted the name Kenton (allegedly a misspelled version of Canton) in 1891.
Upon statehood, Cimarron County was formed and had 20 communities including Kenton, which was actually the county seat for about a year before Boise City won the designation in 1908.
By the 1930s, Kenton had nearly 100 residents. Until recently, there were still 14 or 15 residents in Kenton. Today, there are only nine, according to Kenton native Jane Labrier Apple, who herself is in her early 80s, and co-owner of the Hitching Post Lodge and A&L Cattle Co. (formerly 101 Ranch) four miles east of town.
Most of the townspeople have either died or moved away, leaving remnants of an era long gone.
That said, the region is rich with history and has plenty to see and do.
Living on Mountain Time
Kenton is literally the only town in Oklahoma that is on Mountain Time since it’s practically in New Mexico. Somewhere on the lonely highway between Boise City and Kenton time skips back an hour when you cross the invisible time zone.
Kenton Museum is the standalone business operating in this tiny ghost town aside from the post office, an active community center, and the three churches who help sponsor the annual outdoor Easter pageant. The mercantile and café shut down a while back, Jane Apple said during an interview in June.
However, due to a bat problem, she added, the museum remains closed this year. Visitors traveling through can take a peek at the 1882 stagecoach used on the Santa Fe Trail on the east side of the building; it was donated by Jane Apple and her husband Bob, who previously gave rides in it as part of the Hitching Post ranch experience 20 years ago but stopped after encountering liability issues.
Standing in three states
North and west of Kenton is the Preston Monument, so named after Levi Preston who surveyed a portion of the New Mexico-Colorado border in 1900. This granite pillar (replacing his original staked tri-state marker in 1990) is triangulated in the exact spot where Oklahoma meets New Mexico and Colorado.
Google Maps and Apple Maps both have it pinpointed as you have to drive an obscure gravel and dirt road riddled with cattle guards beyond the paved one without signs to reach it. It is on private property and be aware of the cows that freely roam nearby.
Tracking dinosaurs
Not far from the Preston Monument on private property owned by Jane Apple’s cousin, nestled in the dry bed of Carrizo Creek, are bonafide dinosaur tracks. These visible Jurassic sandstone footprints by an allosaurus can be found northeast of Black Mesa’s summit on a very rocky and potholed unmarked road about half a mile.
Just like the Preston Monument, Google Maps and Apple Maps both have it pinpointed for you; go past the turn off for the Black Mesa Nature Preserve and take a right.
Hiking to the highest point
Black Mesa’s summit is the highest point in Oklahoma at 4,973 feet above sea level. Black Mesa is actually located in the Black Mesa Nature Preserve northwest of Kenton, not in Black Mesa State Park, which is actually east of Kenton and 15 miles from the preserve.
Black Mesa is part of the much larger Mesa de Maya, which extends through Colorado and New Mexico before ending in Oklahoma. This 3-mile-long table-topped plateau bordered on all sides by cliffs will erode over time, causing the mesa to transform into a butte.
Visitors can hike to the top of Black Mesa on High Point Trail. One way is 4.2 miles and is moderately difficult since it is steep and rocky, averaging about six to eight hours depending on personal speed to trek up and down the summit. There is no camping anywhere on the Black Mesa Nature Preserve, which is open from dawn to dusk.
The park ranger advises hikers to be prepared during the summer to pack plenty of water to avoid becoming disoriented at the high elevation in 100-degree temps, adding rock temperatures can exceed 130 degrees.
Gazing at the stars
The Kenton area is known for its pristine dark skies and is the only spot in the state that ranks a 1 on the Bortle Dark Sky Scale, meaning it is completely void of light pollution. Astrophotographers come out in droves to the Black Mesa State Park and surrounding campsites or lodging during the summer and fall.
Camp Billy Joe (named for Jane Apple’s late cousin Billy Joe Labrier) east of Kenton is ground zero for the annual Okie-Tex Star Party, hosted by the Oklahoma City Astronomy Club every fall when visitors from around the world descend on Northwest Oklahoma to gaze at the stars, especially the Milky Way. This year’s event is Sept. 19-27; for more details and the event schedule, go online at okie-tex.com or at Facebook.com/OkieTexStarParty.
Camping and fishing in the grasslands
Located east of Kenton is Black Mesa State Park. The state park is a lush green oasis with a lake hidden in the seemingly dry and arid southwestern landscape. Winding down into canyon, you will find the state park office with one of Jane Apple’s sons as the park ranger, CampWorks souvenir shop (Facebook.com/people/Camp-Works/100082917147555), and camping spaces for tents and RVs.
Nearby is Lake Carl Etling, which has five miles of shoreline, two boat ramps, picnic and camping facilities, and state park cabins. Constructed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1958 and fed by South Carrizo Creek, the lake touts largemouth bass, flathead catfish, walleye, and smallmouth bass.
Eagle-eyed visitors also can find faint hadrosaur footprints in the rippled rock at the overlook near the entrance of Black Mesa State Park.