Charleston

Historical marker location:

Buffalo, Oklahoma

( Marker is at the intersection of U.S. 64 and County Highway N2010, on the right when traveling east on U.S. 64.)

Marker installed: 1983

The town of Charleston was named for Charles Eilerts who was appointed postmaster on May 18, 1901. The town had two general stores, a drug store, a newspaper, a livery stable, and a doctor until the railroad bypassed it in 1920.

Oklahoma is known as the "Sooner State" because of the land runs that occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Sooners" were people who snuck into the unassigned lands of the Oklahoma Territory before the official opening of the land runs. The term "Sooner" eventually became a nickname for people from Oklahoma.