Lugert, Oklahoma was founded in 1901 when the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation lands were opened up for settlement. The original settlement was started when Frank Lugert opened a general goods store along the North Fork of the Red River near the Quartz Mountains.
As settlements go, one store attracts other businesses including a blacksmith shop and cotton gin. By 1908, the Orient Railroad, with service to Altus, Oklahoma, constructed a line through Lugert, drawing more opertunities to this Agricultural town, drawing more businesses with it including a bank and grain elevator. Lugert was never a very large town, reaching just over a hundred by 1911.
The river provided the region a resource that was very necessary to ensure stability to the farming communities and the growing population of Altus, water. In 1927, Altus built the first of a couple dams in the area for municipal water. Altus was only 17 miles to the south, this area gave the town the ability to continue to grow. In 1938, Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1938, authorizing a larger, taller dam, extending the reach of lake shores. In 1940, the town of Lugert was condemned. Reportedly, when lake levels are low, you can still see remains of the town, including building foundations, wells and street bridges.
A marker near the site states:
Lugert, Oklahoma
Austrian Immigrant, Frank Lugert (1868~1958)
Founded the town of Lugert when the Kiowa~Comanche~Apache Reservation opened for settlement in 1901. Mr. Lugert ran the Post Office, train depot, and the general store. The town with a peak population of over 400, thrived until 1912 when a tornado destroyed a significant number of homes and business. The town continued to exist until 1941 when the W.C. Austin Dam was completed for the Lugert~Altus Irrigation District and water soon covered the townsite.
The town of Lugert was located 1 1/4 miles southeast of this point.
A close up of the marker shows the former town.
The above information was researched using the following refernces:
- Morris, John. Ghost towns of Oklahoma. Univ of Oklahoma Pr, 1977. 125-127. (Partial views available through Google Books as linked.
- Cloud Chief, Oklahoma, Wikipedia entry, accessed on January 9, 2010.
- List of ghost towns in Oklahoma, Wikipedia entry, accessed on January 10, 2010.
- Oklahoma Historical Marker. Text written above.