This will be prime real-estate when people start leaving big cities in droves, mark my words...

I grew up in a rural town in Oklahoma. The main industries were oil and small farms. The oil is still there, but at a much decreased level. The small farmers have passed away and now the area is larger ranches, employing fewer people. Many people, like me, after getting college degree, left for much batter jobs in the big cities. These trends are why so many small towns(everywhere) are having trouble.

Great report. My mom was born and raised in hollis. She is 92 and knows the history to this day

I lived in Hollis in 2000/2001. Very strange feeling to live there. It was nearly as abandoned then as it is now. Wasn't much to do at all. The big thing for people then was going down to the local Love's convenience store so they'd have a reason to see each other and say hello. Watching high school football was still the biggest thing to do though. You'd be really surprised just how nice and modern some of the houses in Hollis are though. Just gorgeous. My uncle lived in one.

This was a walk back in time for me! I grew up in Altus, OK and my mother was an Avon district manager for all these little towns you drove us through. I used to drive with my mother as she signed up ladies to sell Avon in the late 1960's and 1970 through all these towns. Wow! What a walk back in time! Thank you for this little trip down memory lane.

Altus is one the hottest towns in Oklahoma, always a few degrees hotter than Lawton or OKC.

Very cool video....in case people didn't know, Altus, Mangum and Hollis are all county seats. Summer of 2019 my best friend and I visited every single county seat...tried to stay off main highways and turnpikes as much as possible. Great way to see all of Oklahoma and learn a lot of history.

Holy shit, this just popped into my algorithm for no reason and the first 2 minutes features my hometown of blair. Talk about a blast from the past lol.

I live in Hollis lol! This was so trippy to come across dude! It's a very small cotton town ....most of the houses out here are 100 years old and many of them are lived in to this day including the one I live in now. Just outside of town there's a couple old abandoned schools Roy school is one and there's Many many old churches that fell and all the houses around them rotted back into dirt. Busy Corner is basically just standing history...it's been like that since I was a child. They used to sell cokes in glass bottles in the summer but it's just sat there frozen in time since the old man died years back. What a trip!

This is exactly what I needed to see. I'm from a little farther northeast than you showed but I know this area all too well. I grew up in a small town called mountain view. Just even seeing places that I know that we'll that are only an hour to two away makes me happy. I haven't been back home in a year. Been back twice since I shipped out in 2020. It's even harder to go home now being stationed in italy. So thank you for showing these places.

I was permanent party cadre at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during the final year or two of the Vietnam War. My girlfriend and I would hop into the El Camino and drive over to Altus to watch B-52s do "touch and goes" at the airfield there, since Altus Airfield was a bomber training base back then. It was watching shopping malls coming in, way out, lined up with the runway. I found the people to be darned good people in these small towns in the early Seventies.

The west of Oklahoma looks a lot different than the eastern portion.

Watching this video took me back to my childhood and my ancestral roots. Both my parents were born and raised in Vinson. My mother’s grandfather was a barber and his shop was across the from the arbor (still standing) behind the memorial marker you read. Her grandfather also led the singing when they had “revival meetings” under that arbor. All the relatives on my daddy’s side farmed in the area. Daddy’s momma moved to Mangum when I was around 10. She worked and lived at The Franklin Hotel and I loved to visit her there. The switch board had plugs which you used connect calls to the rooms. There was a restaurant as well and our family often ate there when we went to see Grandma. Thanks for taking me on a bittersweet trip down memory lane.

I live in Altus. It's a really friendly town. I love it

I was stationed at Altus AFB from Jan of 75 to October of 78. There was not a single fast food restaurant at the time but Big D's burger joint had great food and the Fox cafe had great enchiladas. I was accustomed to living in small towns but my room mate was from the Washington DC area and he was absolutely convinced that he had died and gone to hell when he arrived at the little isolated dusty town.

I am enjoying your travel logs! Those gas pumps were probably 1960s vintage. I was working in a gas station in 1969 while in high school. The price for regular was 36 cents per gallon. Conoco was dominant in Oklahoma back then. Your travels through the downtrodden towns in the center of the USA make me wonder what it would take to revive some of these places. The dust bowl of the 1930s turned that area and the panhandles into dust dunes. Thankfully, the agriculture reforms introduced during the Great Depression provided a massive improvement. Still, a lot of the Okies stayed in California. On early maps of Oklahoma Territory, the 36-mile-wide strip known as "the panhandle" was referred to as "No man's land". Go figure!

Hollis may be dying, and looks bad, you’ll meet some of the best people. People who take care of others. Who pull together when tragedies happen. A lot of our small town are that way. And even though Hollis and other towns are “dying”, I’ll take my good people any day over city life. And yes. The roads are horrible. But they tell a story about how our men worked on our water lines day and night.

My grandfather was the newspaper in Hollis for decades. My dad, uncle, and aunt were raised in Hollis. They left in the 50s. I visited Hollis many times growing up (60s and 70s). I have many great memories about Hollis -- super cool dust storms, stars galore, running through cotton and wheat fields, shooting guns, etc. I always had LOTS of fun in Hollis. Thanks for doing this video.

I remember going through some of those places in the 50's -60's. Makes you wonder what happened to all those people. Thanks for the memories.

My aunt lived in Sayre Oklahoma all while I was growing up! I love Western Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweepin down the plains! ❤️ I live in Norman Oklahoma now. My home town is Paul’s Valley ok

We rented a farm house in Frederick ok, in the 80s for $35.00 a month. All he wanted was for someone to watch over property so people would stop stealing his fuel. Great memories

Check out the Jesse James museum in Cement, Oklahoma

Great video. A far cry from what life is like for me in OKC. Excited to see the panhandle.

My mother's parents taught school in Burns Flat, between Clinton and Elk City, which in the 1960s had a SAC base. The base closed around 1970, and the state placed a vo-tech school (now technology center) on the old base. The long runway left behind has long been used for landing practice by the Altus base, and now it's been designated as a spaceport. My father's parents lived in Geary, a town closer to "the city," as rural people call Oklahoma City, but nevertheless has declined significantly over the last half-century.

“Rural Oklahoma, kinda beautiful isn’t it” pretty much sums it up. I love being a 405 native

I have family that still lives in Granite and Hobart! Granite is about 15 minutes from Mangum. Hobart is probably about 30 minutes from Mangum. It really is a trip back in time every time I go visit

36 cents a gallon was after 1973. It isn't that old. Not to me. I remember gasoline for 17 cents. Great old truck. Take note, the station in Hollis is from the 70s. My Dad drove all the way across Oklahoma to give a talk to the Hollis Chamber of Commerce in about '72 about the new Arkansas River Navigation System. Every town had an ice plant. They used ammonia and super cooled brine to make ice in big square aluminum cans on a chain conveyor that would run through the long fat of brine water. The people left in towns like Gould are the very old who have no other place to go and others. They wouldn't have it any other way for the most part. The towns remind me of the one in "The Last Picture Show".

I live in OK & it’s cool to see different parts of Oklahoma I probably wouldn’t otherwise see! They all look the same as the other Oklahoma small towns haha! Cool videos dude.

This is so funny to watch, grew up in Duke Oklahoma about 15 Mike's away from altus. Love seeing your reactions to everything!

That old gas station is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

My parents met there when my dad was in the Air Force. Visited for the first time last month, it takes forever to get there. I love delivering in sw Oklahoma for FedEx express, get to see all kinds of small towns I would never otherwise see

I grew up in Grove, OK on Grandlake. There are several small towns nearby that have been abandoned

Luigi’s is so good in blair! Mangum will never be a ghost town because that’s where the yearly Rattle snake derby is. Omg you made it to hollis 🤣 I was born here and I hate it lol 13:45 was my moms first rent house YEARS ago, I’m 40 so it was a long time ago 🤣 16:05 the museum is back east of where you are right now on the north side of road. You said gould right the 1st time. It has no stores, just post office and county barn lol and people of course

I remember growing up in Muskogee but also lived in several small towns. I lived in Council Hill before lake eufala flooded our farm. I also lived in Morris, Okmulgee, Verden and Fort Gibson. Muskogee had 55,000 people in it when I left for the marines and went to viet nam in 1968. when I returned Muskogee was just another small oklahoma town with about 35,000 people in it. Merle Haggard did a show there once right after he recorded "Okie from Muskogee". I was in viet nam at the time and when the guys heard the song, they thought it was a joke place. I said it was a real place and showed them my drivers license issued in Muskogee....they were blown away. Both my parents are buried in Muskogee at the cemetery on York street. I should go back and just drive through it one more time, but between the mosquitoes, chiggers, web worms, and the horrible humidity, it will just be a visit. LOL. But it was a fantastic place to fish with ponds and lakes everywhere and of course the arkansas river. I killed a lot of squirrels and rabbits for a few dinners I recall with my trusty 22 rifle. Honor Heights park (where the five civilized tribes museum is located) was a fun place to hang when I was young. They had the national offices for the VA there in Muskogee at Honor Heights Park. They have people from all over the world come yearly to the big Azalea festival. I'd like to see greenleaf lake again, had some good times there. as the old saying goes....Muskogee is a good place to be from. LOL

I’m from Hollis. A lot of people left around the late 90s early 2000s. They just need to tear it down and rebuild. Your video just shows how even worse it has gotten

I love the old gas station in Hollis.

I grew up in Blair OK and left in '84. I go back occasionally as my parents and relatives are buried in the Blair cemetery. I graduated from BHS in ' 75 .it has its small town charm but Well what you see is what you get.

The restaurant in Blair is amazing. You should come to Comanche OK, a ghost town that is coming back to life. Thanks for the video.

I grew up in Hollis. This is making me homesick. I plan to move back to that part of the country by the end of the year.

Went to elementry school in roosevelt......played those towns in summer baseball......we owned gas station and propane company 1960's looked about like that gas station

Awesome video Sir..... that vintage gas station in Hollis was incredible. It looked like something out of the 40's and 50's. It's also sad in a way to see these small towns now as it seems to indicate that Rural America is slowly dying. Your tours like this fascinate me LS.....please keep them coming!

This touching tour culminated for me videoing and reading that poignant plaque memorialising a more prosperous past of what now is the eerie remains of Vinson, Oklahoma. I was also impressed by Jones' Barber Shop, within a kind of stand-alone mini Quonset hut, in the town of Blair. May no one misunderstand me. I have nothing but the deepest teverence for such gritty, isolated places within our great country. Thanks again.

Thankyou so much for these videos. And commentary. James from oz

I was hoping you would drive into Quartz Mt. State Park when l saw the mountains. My dad had a general store and restaurant there for years. Was booming forever. My late stepmother got sick and my dad's own health he had to close. So many countless good times on Lake Altus. There is actually A Brinkman , Oklahoma. Nothing there. Farms. Mainly farms and livestock in that area. Large Minanite community Sw Oklahoma as well. My mom was born in Hollis. My cousins raised in Altus. I lived there for about 3 years. BTW, Luigis in Blair. Good food. Go to Medicine Park next time. Love that place. I love you pops.. if you see this.

I'm glad you are making these videos, but I do think there is a tiny bit of condescension in some of the things you say about the people living in these places. It might not be intentional, but small towns are often the most proud of their communities and many of those living there choose to live there. Oklahoma City is not too far away, has a relatively low cost of living, and a healthy job market. Those who cannot afford to move don't really have a choice, but I have a lot of family in this part of the state. They get along just fine. They are wonderful people with good lives. With only a few exceptions, these are where those people want to be and there is a bit of judgment for that in your constant surprise and jabs at things being "dead". Again, I do love the video. I just wish you'd talk to the people and maybe refrain from judging those who remain.

I'm glad this popped up on my recommendations. It's a refresher to see ol rural Oklahoma being in South Oklahoma City with all the amenities especially all the hotels in our downtown area. The closest to rural I've enjoyed would be Spencer, Jones, Forest Park, Seminole, Earlsboro, and Banner Road in El Reno.

small towns are quieter fabulous there are not so many aggressive drivers thanks for sharing 🐃🐔🦆

I know Altus Oklahoma, I love the air base. I lived in Lawton Oklahoma.

My sons grandfather and great grandfather and mother were from Mangum. I haven’t been there in 30yrs but I remember the cotton fields

Lol...I was raised in Martha Oklahoma..6 miles NW of Altus..my Great grandfather Clarence Pigg helped build the school & Baptist church..we lived 1/4 mile south of town. His eldest son was the school principal .. Mangum has a snake hunt every year.

Lived in Altus and Blair as kid. Love the open spaces. Unfortunately I’m stuck in the mountains and trees of eastern Tennessee right now.

I really enjoy your videos! I'm also fascinated by old abandoned towns. The old gas station in this one was such a cool find! 👌

This was a very good video, good job ! These places are kind of the midwest version of Centralia Pennsylvania, such a shame of what's happening to these once vibrant towns

Touring small towns is very interesting. Thank you.

you gave me quite a nice surprise..Hollis is where my grandparents lived and are buried there. My mother grew up there and she is 90+ now. Thanks for running me around those old streets of my memory.

One thing I notice about these places is that they are not only in the middle of nowhere but there are no necessities such as working gas stations, places to buy food and clothing and places to eat, just to name a few. We live about 10 miles from town in farm country (we aren't farmers ourselves), but our town has two big box stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. It is a small college town, which helps support these things. I can't imagine living in one of these empty places, even though I love the country. Nice and interesting video. Thanks!

I'm originally from Lone Grove in Carter County and now live in a smaller community here in Southern Oklahoma and I've seen many small towns around me slowly get smaller and empty buildings and houses that I grew up in or near where I have kinfolk and when older people pass on and their children no longer have need of the houses and property it sits and sits until they either fall down on their own or the city or county has them torn down and when a business closes down due to various reasons the building usually gets another business in it if it's lucky or they just fall down also and like the weather here in Oklahoma it can change in an instance.

Love the videos love the work you put in, that whole town town area was just abandoned nice buildings for blocks all vacant, than you ran into all the bad roads they had yeah there's no aconamy there that poor town is broke but still a beautiful part of the country glad we got people like you that films so we can all see the buty American still has again thank you....

My husband and I used to travel short distances hes gone now and im a happy armchair traveler thanks to you

My family is originally from Mangum. My great grandparents lived at the end of Jefferson and my mom used to work the switchboard at the Franklin hotel about 1965. It was a great place to be a kid back then. I think they still hold the rattlesnake festival, but it's been a long time ago for me.

This is so true. Many of these small towns have nothing to offer their residents and the hardship to keep them within various codes, is a financial impossibility. Many structures should be torn down to remove possible arson and vandalism and the land reclaimed for farming or reforestation.

That was me that drove by in the black pickup and trailer while you were in Vinson. I live on the west end of town, and own the feedlot you can see.

Somehow, this just came up on my feed today...and being an Okie expat, I had to check it out. When you were in Hollis, I kept looking for a chuckwagon. I believe the famous cowboy cook, Kent Rollins, and his lovely wife live in that area.

England calling.......another fascinating video just love seeing rural America. Keep up the good work.

You captured something rare in southwestern Oklahoma. Rain. Check out Fallis Oklahoma. Everything is still there. In the panhandle read the history of Wheelless.

My mom and dad were born and raised in Hobart Oklahoma. I used to go there a lot in the 50's, 60's and 70's. The people were outstanding there. I miss it. Most of my family are buried in the Hobart Cemetery.

Wish I knew more about that empty hotel, as you stated, what a shame. Thanks for the video!

You are creating priceless historical documentation for future generations. Thank you.

I lived in Elk City for 8 1/2 yrs. Nice place to live. Low crime , good people and great hunting and fishing. A lot of these towns died out some during the dust bowl. And after the oil boom of the ‘80’s. I loved it there. No light pollution at night. No air pollution. Great place to raise a family. As opposed to cities with all of the trash and high crime.

Funny thing is that I use to live in altus in the mid seventies and everyone of those towns had at least some life to them never would imagine that it changed that much, couple of good fishing holes down there thoe

Proudly from Altus as were my family all the way back to the early days of the town. Many times I have thought to move back but the town is so depressed now. Thanks for the coverage.Gould is said as "Goold"

this drive was more then fantastic, realy loved the gastation wow so cool, thanks for the ride

You should have gone a few miles east and checked out the Wichita Mountains, Mount Scott & Medicine Park just north of Lawton & Ft. Sill.

THANKS.... We just moved to Lawton and get a kick out of seeing some of these very rural areas in Oklahoma.... God Bless rural America...

Lord Spoda, now that was fun, and enlightening, thank you.

Thank you for the tour!

If you want to be amazed at what still passes for a town go to a place like Quinton where there was a lead smelter or Bowlegs in the old Three Sands oil field. What you were amazed were streets look good compared to some of those towns I mentioned.

Very cool. I live up in Enid, Oklahoma. If you're ever nearby, check out our ghost mall. Oakwood Mall. It's kinda creepy. Nearly completely empty. I'm sure the owner is using it as a tax write-off.

Thank u for sharing these videos. Just very interesting

As an oilman in the year of our lord 2022, I am always amazed driving through rural OK to the courthouses throughout. Can’t help but wonder what those folks do these days, sad, but also so amazing to see the past in the living flesh. Okla is so rich in history.

It saddens me to see all our little towns dying out. I live in a BoomTown and it is dying out too. When I was a kid we had 5 pm traffic you couldn't get across the street for all the cars. Nowadays, it is just sad. Oil towns bursting with people or farming community towns in Oklahoma, now ghost towns. Everyone up and moved to larger cities in Oklahoma or left the State altogether. Guess that's progess for ya.

I grew up in Carter, OK, on the Northfork of the Red River. It's about 20 minutes from Magnum and 20 minutes south of Elk City. My family is in the oilfield and farms. Pretty much the only thing that happens in Western OK. But you're right. There's something really beautiful about its desolate hills. I sure miss the way it feels. Luckily my family still lives there, so I get to visit some.

Awesome! A vid about Oklahoma. 😁 Stay safe from the heat! The grass is literally yellow!

Thank you for reading the marker at vinson.. I looked at bench and wondered how many people sat on it when it was thriving. Thank you for taking me on this road trip. When my brother was alive he took me on trips like this.

Enjoyed the tour, as I grew up on the prairie up north in Osage County and went to school in a small town (about 2,000 then) with some 1,100 residents now. Lots of abandoned houses and stores falling in, businesses moved on or gone out, and not enough revenue to get them taken down. There was an idea to let the fire department practice on them and then clean up the debris after but was deemed too dangerous for surrounding structures. Oh and, by the was it is true Darrell Royal was a national champion coach for Texas, but first he was an All-American football player at the University of Oklahoma for the legendary Bud Wilkinson. So, the University of Texas Darrel K. Royal Stadium...... is named for an OU football player.

I lived in Altus and loved it!! Great people in Oklahoma. Did you go to Martha?

used to work in Oklahoma City at a distributor for appliance parts. I shipped stuff all over the state, Thank you for giving me a glimpse of what these towns looked like

The gas station was a real sweet find. Nice one! 😅👍🏼⛽️

No HOAs to worry about in these towns!

Mangum, born and raised 🙋🏽‍♀️.

I’m addicted to your stuff. Keep going. Thx.

Watching your videos amazes me at the open spaces and what could be a new future snd revival of new life .why companies like Amazon etc don’t rebuild these ghost towns ? Even with the American homeless condition? How some of these high end rehabs. So much beautiful country

I grew up in a small community outside Ada, okla. One school with kindergarten through 8th, amazing how all these places have Disappeared simply because Walmart came to the big town and all the little stores left could not make it we had a church and a school and that was it after the store closed down.

Lots of tiny dying towns here for sure. Live near sharon,ok. No stores here , but an awesome Volunteer Fire Department and great school.

Fascinating clip. It reminds me of the film Hell or Highwater. Spending my life in the NYC metro area, that film stunned me? We have East Coast towns and cities that are also desolate and abandoned, but I think it’s the expanse? It also reminded me a bit of another film, A Trip to Bountiful? You see these homes and storefronts and realise that people occupied these places, raised a family made a livelihood. Thanks for the clip.

Thank you. Loved this video.

I lived in Altus in the late seventies working for the telephone company. I was the installation repair foreman for many of those towns you were driving through. Even back in the 70's you saw a lot of those abandoned buildings and homes. I was told that back in the 30's those towns were populated with a lot people who supported the agriculture in the area. Mostly cotton. As farming became more mechanized, there was less need for workers, so the populations diminished. But there is still lot's of money in agriculture in those areas, just not many people. The City of Altus would be the same way if the Air Force base closed. If you hit these rural towns early in the morning you will find the favorite cafe the farmers meet at before they go check on their properties. Just look for the pickups and you'll find a good place a good breakfast and a chicken fried steak for lunch. I miss those times.

It must be roasting HOT there! ♨️

Thank u your vlogs educate me

Recently moved to rural Oklahoma to escape the craziness of the west coast. It's really sad to see all the small towns in the plains states that have been destroyed by globalization.