Under the Oklahoma Constitution, adopted in November 1907, Madill was named the county seat of Marshall County. However, Article XVII of the Constitution of Oklahoma provided that the county seat could be removed to another town if the citizens approved the removal of the county seat through an election.
On May 1, 1908, multiple petitions to remove the county seat from Madill and move it to Kingston were filed with Governor Charles Haskell, the first Governor of Oklahoma. On that same day,GovernorHaskellissued a proclamation ordering an election in Marshall County to determine which of the two towns would be the county seat. The election was ordered to be held on July 10, 1908. In the proclamation, Governor Haskell stated: Whereas, said petitions have been examined by me, and same being in proper formandinconformitytolaw, and being fully advised in the premises: Now Therefore, I, C. N. Haskell, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws in of said State of Oklahoma, do hereby call an election to be held in said County of Marshall, for the purpose of submitting to the of qualified electors of said Countythequestionofchanging, removing or relocating the County the Seat of said County, said election to be held on the 10th, day of July, A. D., 1908, and to be held under the provisions of the election laws of the State of Oklahoma,thatnoticeofsuch election to be given by publication of this proclamation in newspapers published at Madill, Kingston and Woodville; if any such newspapers shall fail or refuse to publish the same, then by posting in a public place in such towns or place, for the period of at least six consecutive weeks next preceding the date of such election as herein ordered.
Section 6 of Article XVII of thenewlyadoptedOklahoma Constitution, set out the rules for county seat elections. In part, Section 6 provided the following: If a majority of all the votes cast in the county at such county election shall be in favor of any town, such town shall thereafter be the county seat: Provided, however, That where the county seat named in this Constitution is within six miles of the geographical center of the county (said geographical center to be determined by certificate from the Secretary of State, and said distance to be determined by measurement from said geographical center to the nearest corporate limits of such county seat, as they existed on the twenty-first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven), it shall require sixty per centum of the total vote cast at such election by the competing town to effect the removal of such county seat, unless such competing town be more than one mile nearer the geographical center of said county, in which event a majority vote shall suffice… According to this legal framework, county seats within six miles of the geographic center of their respective counties had certain protections, requiring a supermajority of sixty percent of the vote to move the seat from the town named in the Constitution to a competing town. However, the Constitution also provided that if the town seeking removal of the county seat was one mile closer to the county's geographic center, then the Constitution only required a simple majority of fifty percent plus one vote to lead to a change in the county seat.
Therefore, a major issue in the dispute between Madill and Kingston over the designation of the county seat town, was the determination of the geographic center of Marshall County. Because of this, Oklahoma’s first Secretary of State, William Macklin Cross, played a key role in determining the geographic centers of counties during disputes over county seats.
William Macklin Cross was born in Purdy, Tennessee, on July 4, 1847. At fourteen, he joined the Confederate States Army, serving in the 154th Tennessee Infantry Regiment as a drummer in Company K. He fought alongside his father at the Battle of Shiloh, where his father was killed and he was captured. After a prisoner-of-war exchange, Cross returned to service under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. After the war, he attended Kentucky University in Lexington but dropped out after a year due to being unable to afford tuition. He eventually became a traveling salesman and moved to Oklahoma. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Oklahoma Territory’s at-large congressional district in 1902. In 1907, he was elected the first Secretary of State for Oklahoma. He died in office on August 3, 1910, after winning the 1910 Democrat primary for Oklahoma State Auditor.
Under the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary of State was directed to commission the surveying of each county in the state to determine the exact geographic center of each county. Then, measurements were madetodetermineifthetown named in the Constitution as the county seat was within six miles of the geographic center. If so, that town received the supermajority vote protection spelled out in the Constitution unless the challenging town was one mile closer to the geographic center. The measurements were to be made from the geographiccentertothenearest town or city limits of the county seat and the competing town as those boundaries existed on January 21, 1907. This prevented towns from annexing more land to expand their boundaries and changing the votes needed in an election.
On May 5, 1908, Secretary of State William Cross certified a map of Marshall County, designating the geographic center as a spot about “130 feet east of the quarter section corner between Sections 15 and 25” of Township 6, South, Range 5, East of the Indian Meridian. The map also showed the exact spot and then the measurements to the nearest corporate limits of Madill and Kingston. For those wondering where that spot is located, it is 2.5 miles due south of the intersection of Highway 70 and Highway 70F, then about 130 feet east of Highway 70F.
According to the Secretary of State’s official map, in 1908, Madill was precisely four miles from the geographic center of Marshall County, and Kingston was 2.62 miles from the geographic center. This meant that to move the county seat from Madill, Kingston only needed a vote of fifty percent plus one to prevail.
This was a significant problem for Madill. The determination that Kingston was 1.38 miles closer to the geographic center meant the odds that Kingston could prevail in the election were much higher. The difference between a simple majority and a super-majority vote came down to 2,059 feet.
In response to this ruling, the editor of the Marshall County Democrat issued an editorial on May 8, 1908, where he engaged in some interesting mental gymnastics to argue that Madill was closer to the geographic center of the county than Kingston. In his editorial, W. G. Draper stated the following.
“An election for the relocation of the county seat of Marshall County has been ordered by the Governor, and the 10th day of July has been named as the day on which the election shall be held. We feel that this contest was brought about by the people of Kingston for the sole purpose of enhancing the value of their property, provided they were successful. In other words, it was actuated by a selfish motive on their part.
The expense in holding this election will be something like $5,000, with no benefitaccruingtothepeople. In deciding this question, it is not a matter as to what the people of Kingston or Madill may want but what the people of Marshall County want. Every voter in the county has a voice in settling this question and it should be exercised by him, as a loyal citizen, as the highest privilege guaranteed us by the constitution, and this privilege should be looked at from an unbiased, unprejudiced standpoint. You should act as reasonable men and vote for the place that you think is and at all times will be the most accessible to all or a majority of the people of the county.”
“The question to be settled is: Does Kingston or Madill best fill this bill? If it is more convenient for the people from all parts of the county to get to Kingston and Kingston can offer you better accommodations than Madill, then you should vote forKingston;ifnotyoushould certainly vote for Madill.
Now, let us consider for a minute. The people of Kingston are representing that they are a great deal nearer the 'geographical center' of the county than Madill; that it would be a great injustice to leave the seat of government at Madill.”
“According to the official map of the county given out by Secretary of State W. M. Cross by taking an airline Kingston is 2.62 miles from the center of the county while Madill is 4 miles from the center. This would seem to give Kingston the advantage in distance on an air line of 1.38 miles. Now really, since this has come up as it has, we are truly glad that they have seen fit to take an air line because in doing so it will take only a majority to decide the question either way, and not a 60 per cent majority as we had at one time thought. And at the same time leave to Madill all the argument of being as near, if not nearer the center of the county than Kingston. Let's look again. The center as located by Secretary Cross is 4 miles due south of the square in Madill. To reach the nearest incorporated limit of Madill from the center by section and quarter section lines you would have to travel 4 miles, to reach the nearest limit of Kingston from the center you would have to travel 4 miles. So where is the difference? When the county is entirely fenced up as it is almost fenced now and these gatesaredoneawaywith;will you travel on an air line or will you make square turns following these lines as we have indicated. So, taking this proposition as one, as one Kingston and Madill are evenly balanced, but let's look a little further. Draw a line, east and west through the center as located by Mr. Cross and you will have approximately 218 sections on the northside of the line while on the south you onlyhavesomethinglike202, giving the north half of the county some 16 square miles morelandthanthesouthhalf has. The east and west line is 4 miles south of Madill and 11/2 miles north of Kingston, the north and south lines pass through the center of Madill and it leaves Kingston 2 1/2 miles to the east.
Again, the farthest point in the county from Madill by section lines is 23 1/2 miles. The farthest point in the county from Kingston is 25 miles. Mr. Reader, by looking at this from a reasonable standpoint don't you think the Constitutional Convention did a wise thing in placing the county seat of Marshall county at Madill; and don't it occur to you that it is unjust, selfish and avaricious on the part of Kingston to force upon the taxpayers of the county the extra expense of $5,000 for holding this election when the county seat is already as accessibly located to the people as it is possible to have it your reason.”
“It is not our purpose to arouse your prejudice but to appeal to your reason. We shall endeavor at all times to befairinourargumentandto leave all the mudslinging to the other fellow. Come and let us reason together that a just conclusion may be reached.”
Draper argued that measuring by “airline,” or as we call it today, “as the crow flies” was an unfair measurement method. He believed traveling along roads on section lines should be the proper measurement. If that mode of measurement were used, Kingston would be farther from the geographic center than Madill, thus triggering the requirement of a super-majority vote.
In response to the Marshall County Democrat editorial, D. R. Johnston, the editor of the Kingston Messenger, responded as follows.
“When Editor Draper was a schoolteacher, he taught his geometryclassthatastraight line was the shortest distance between two given points. At this time, in teaching geometry to his readers, he argues that the nearest distance between two given points, Kingston and the center of Marshall County, is not by a straight line but by sight-angle turns at every corner section. However, in explaining the distance from Madill to the center of the county, he applies the old geometrical rules by using The straight-line system.
This artfulness on the part ofEditorDraperisoccasioned from the fact that he is attempting to make the people of Marshall County believe that the 4 miles distance between Madill and center of county equals the 2,62 miles from Kingston to center of county. “
“The farmers of Marshall County demand, and they have a right to demand, that thedistancefromtheirhomes totheircountyseatshallbeas nearly equal as is possible to make them, and the only way to give the farmers their just rights in this matter is to locate their county seat as near the center of their county as practical, independent of the commercial interest of any town. This is justice to all with special privilege to none.
The Messenger hopes that EditorDraperoftheMarshall County Democrat will not have the Corporation Commission force the management of the Frisco railroad to re-construct its roadbed from Kingston to Madill so as to conform to section boundaries, This would increase the distance and thereby create additional expense to the citizens of Madill in coming to the future county seat to attend court.”
“The farmer who lives on theboundarylineofMarshall County,immediatelynorthof Madill, when he goes to his county seat to attend court or pay taxes, travels only ten miles in going to town and returning home. The farmer who lives on the boundary line of the county, immediately south of Madill when he goes to his county seat to attend court or pay his taxes, is forced to travel thirty-six miles in going to town and returning home. This unequalization of distance is an unjust discrimination against the masses in favor of a few.
Concerning the false charge contained in the above, 'that this contest was brought about by the people of Kingston for the sole purpose of enhancing the value of their property, and were actuated by a selfish motive' we hereby call attention to the fact that the petition which was presented to the governor asking for this election, was signed by nearly one thousand good citizens of Marshall County, and above 15 per cent of these signers live in Kingston, and 85 per cent live in Marshall County outside of Kingston, The Democrat does the people of Kingston a great injustice in charging a sinister motive to their action in this matter, but it does a greater injustice to the signers of that petition who live outside of Kingston. These people are prompted by a patriotic motive, and they know it would be better for all the people to removetheircountyseatfrom five miles of the north line to a location near the center. We do not know what the actual expense of holding this election will amount to, neither does the Democrat know, but if the Democrat editor can secure a contract for defraying the expense of holding this election for $5,000.00, we will give him $2,500 for his contract, thereby netting him $2,500, and we will also make a handsome profit.
The Democrat's effort to prove by the map that Madill is as centrally located as Kingston is barren of truth and fact. The Messenger in this issue presents an official mapofMarshallCounty,duly certified to by Secretary of State, and its readers are requested to turn to this map and see for themselves which town is most centrally located, Kingston is near the center and Madill is within five miles of the north boundary. Sixty percent of the people of Marshall County reside nearer Kingston forty percent of the people reside nearer Madill.
The readers can measure on the map and see that sixty percent of the territory of the county is nearer Kingston, while about forty percent of the territory is nearer Madill. The correctness of this map and these facts cannot be controverted and are presented to the voters of Marshall County for their earnest perusal and candid consideration.
The center of the county's population is south of the geographical center, thereby showing Kingston to be adjacent to both the geographical center and center of population, while the location of Madill is shown to be several miles from both centers. In addition to Kingston's vantage of location, plainly and correctly demonstrated by this map, the land in all directions from Kingston is of deep soil and best quality for all purposes, while much of the land is contiguous to Madill and its territory is thin and rocky.
Attention of the voters of Marshall County is respectfully called to this map that they may determine with fairness to all and justice to themselves where the permanent county seat of their county shall be located.
Not to be left out of the argument, the Woodville Star newspaper, under the direction of editor, Lewis E. Moss, had this to say about the fight between Madill and Kingston.
“In as much as the Editor of the Kingston Messenger is a very close friend of ours, in fact almost lovers, so to speak, we hereby take the liberty, more as a disagreeable duty than otherwise, to apologize for his explanation of the official map of Marshall County. It may be proper to state here, that we are in no way offended because he did not mention Woodville, the best town in the county, because the Woodville people have enough business sense to know that Kingston will not drop any plums in a town so close to their yard fence, but in justice to the Taxpayers and voters of this county, no one, and especially the able editor in the little village on our North should go so far as to imply their ignorance of the situation.
The Messenger ought to know that the people of this county know that there is no town exactly in the center, that Kingston is about one mile nearer the center from a geographical standpoint and that it is ten miles further from any other point of view. The present county seat is nearer the center of population, has railroad facilities from four different parts of the county, plenty of good water, fire protection for all public buildings and will always be better prepared to take care of Jurors and witnesses during terms of court.”
“As we have been asked so many times by our friends in Woodville, as well as various other parts of the county, where we stood on the county seat question, we think it our duty to express ourselves as we actually see it, for the best interests of Woodville and the majority of the people of the county:WefavorMadillbeing the County Seat of Marshall County, simply because it is nearenoughthecenterof the county and is better prepared to take care of the courts and the court visitors than any town in the county.
Then give Woodville a chance to make a good little town, when, if the county seat was nearer us it would, as we see it, decrease the value of our property and take a great deal of our valued trade from us which we are now enjoying.”
Then, to add insult to injury, editor Lewis Moss stated, “We don’t know what the News thinks about the map, but we think that little town of Kingston will do well if she stays on the map longer than July 10th.”
The battle was getting uglier by the week. But the fight was nowhere near over.