The Washington Irving Trail Museum

Southeast of Stillwater, Oklahoma

The Washington Irving Trail Museum, sponsored by the nonprofit Payne County and Central Oklahoma Museum Association, is located on the site where famed American writer Washington Irving camped when he traveled through this region in 1832. In September of 1983, outlaws battled U.S. marshals in the gunfight at Ingalls a few miles away, and in nearby Ripley the nation's first western band got its start in the 1920s. Learn about this fascinating heritage -and more- at the Washington Irving Trail Museum.


The Legacy of Washington Irving


Washington Irving, author of "Rip van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," was America's first internationally acclaimed writer. In 1832, he accompanied Captain Jesse Bean and his U.S. Rangers on an adventurous trip through what is now central Oklahoma. He described this journey in A Tour on the Prairies, and his colorful account of Oklahoma before settlement provides a vivid description of the landscape before it was changed by encroaching civilization.


The site of the encampment of October 20, 1832, is at the location of The Washington Irving Trail Museum.


The Gunfight at Ingalls


On September 1, 1893, one of the deadliest gun battles in the history of the West took place at Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory, four miles northeast of the museum.


Three U.S. marshals and two bystanders were slain during the battle. The gunfight marked the beginning of the end for the Doolin-Dalton gang, with all of the gang members eventually captured or killed. The story of the infamous shoot-out has been the subject of songs, books, and movies over the years.


The First Western Band: Billy McGinty, Otto Gray, and the Oklahoma Cowboys


Commercial country and western band music began in Ripley, Oklahoma, just six miles southeast of The Washington Irving Trail Museum. Billy McGinty was the first sponsor of the band, but it was Otto Gray who took the cowboy musicians on the road for more than a decade, making records and films and attracting large audiences across the country.


The museum is located on the farm homesteaded by Otto Gray's family and contains photographs, recordings, and other memorabilia related to Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboys, including his wife, "Mommie," who was one of the first female country singers on stage and over the radio.


Billy McGinty: Legendary Cowboy


Billy McGinty was a genuine Oklahoma cowboy with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. He joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and was later named America's bronc-riding champion.


His family lived near Ingalls, and his father-in-law, Dr. Jacob Pickering, wrote an eyewitness account of the gun battle between the Doolin-Dalton gang and U.S. marshals. Billy McGinty also served as sponsor of the nation's first western band, which went on the air over KFRU, in Bristow, Oklahoma in 1925. During his 90 years, Billy McGinty lived a large part of America's Western history.


Other Exhibits

Other exhibits pay tribute to the pioneers and those who have written about them -writers like noted Western author Glenn Shirley, who has helped to preserve Oklahoma's history.

And the site of the first battle of the Civil War in Oklahoma, the Battle of Round Mountains, was on Washington Irving's route. Although there has been some controversy over the years about the exact location of the battle, most historians believe that it took place near Twin Mounds, in eastern Payne County.



Hours and Location


Hours: 10 - 5 Tuesday through Saturday, 1 - 5 Sunday, April 1 through October 30

Winter Hours: 10 - 5 Thursday through Saturday, 1 - 5 Sunday

Location: 6 miles east of Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Highway 51 and 3 miles south on the Mehan Road

Admission is free.


Address: Rt. 1, Box 880, Ripley, OK 74062
Telephone: 405-624-9130