Babbs, Oklahoma

Babbs (formerly named Babbs Switch) is a small rural community in Kiowa County, Oklahoma.[1] It was named for Edith "Babbs" Babcock.[2] [lower-alpha 1] Babbs is 6 miles (9.7 km) SSE of Hobart, Oklahoma, and its elevation is 1,535 feet (468 m).[3]

Babbs, Oklahoma

Babbs Switch
Unincorporated community
Babbs
Location within Oklahoma and the United States
Babbs
Babbs (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°56′54″N 99°3′34″W
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountyKiowa
Elevation
1,535 ft (468 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total1
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID1100186

Babbs was the scene of the nationally known Babbs Switch Fire on December 24, 1924, in which 36 people died in a school fire. Many of the dead were children but several families were completely wiped out. Although the Babbs school house is this community's "claim to fame", Babbs had as its largest feature a grain elevator that served the local farmers as a depository for small grains (wheat, barley, oats, milo) until the late 1970s when the elevator was closed due to its age and lack of repair by its owners, "Hobart Farmer's CO-OP". Additionally there was a gas station and a general store across Hwy 183 to the east approximately 2 city blocks from the elevator. The Babbs school house was rebuilt and utilized until World War II's final days when the Babbs school district was consolidated into the Roosevelt and Hobart school districts. All of the structures of the Babbs community are gone today and there is a small Rest Area and a stone marker where the original Babbs school house once stood.

Notes
  1. According to Shirk, the community was named for Babbs because she was the first person to deliver a load of wheat to the newly constructed grain elevator at the switch,[2]
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References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Babbs, Oklahoma
  2. Shirk, George H. "Babbs." In: Place Names in Oklahoma. Second Edition. p. 15. 1987. ISBN 0-8061-2028-2. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman, Oklahoma. Accessed October 2, 2018.
  3. "Babbs(in Kiowa County, OK) Populated Place Profile." OKHometownLocator.
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