William Rankin - Bison, OK
Posted by: hamquilter
N 36° 13.656 W 097° 53.375
14S E 599792 N 4009764
Grave of a railroad worker, buried by his fellow workmen during the laying of the railroad tracks.
Waymark Code: WMYHY7
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/18/2018
Views: 7
If we hadn't had coordinates and known where we were headed, we would never have accidentally come across this grave. It is located on CR N2870 which runs north-south adjacent to the railroad tracks, just barely west of Highway 81, north of Bison.
According to the listing in Find a Grave: "The story goes that William Rankin was working for the railroad while helping lay the original railroad tracks heading north out of Bison, Oklahoma when he died. He was buried by his fellow workers next to the railroad track about two and one forth miles north of Bison along a dirt road just off of U.S. 81. Rankin's grave is marked with a metal sign with his name and date of death, 8-8-1888. His headstone and footstone are pieces of railroad track standing on end." Find a Grave
We found it very interesting that Mr. Rankin died on a date filled with 8's - 8-8-1888.