William Henry Vail Yates

     William Henry Vail Yates was born on 10 August 1859 in Chireno, Nacogdoches County, Texas.^2,3,1 He married Annie Laura Horn, daughter of William Lemuel Horn and Naomi Simmons, on 13 December 1883 in Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas.^1,2 He died on 21 February 1948 in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, at age 88.^3,2 He was buried on 24 February 1948 in Rosehill Cemetery, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas.^3,2
     

Vail W. and Annie Yates appeared on the 1 June 1900 Federal Census of Washita County, Oklahoma, enumerated 2 August 1900. Their children Lizzie, Vail, Pearl, Neil, Lula and Baby were listed as living with them.⁴

     In April 1899, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad completed it's line 51 miles west from Chickasha, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, ending in the northern part of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation, which was to be opened summer of 1901.

     As usual, crowds followed the railroad. Since the Federal Government did not allow whites settlers on the Reservation, many gathered around the store and Post Office built and owned by Yates and Eaton, set up as Oakdale, at the end of the line. It was located 2 miles from the end of the railroad and north of the Washita River. At Oakdale, dubbed "City of the Woods", a newspaper, The Southwestern Progress was established. Other businesses followed near the rails end and Mountain View was born, Oakdale was phased out.

     The Eaton's set aside the southeast corner of their homeplace for the Oakdale Cemetery. The first burial was Ollie Eaton, age 5, who died Oct. 29, 1895. Thomas Jefferson Eaton was part owner of the Eaton/Yates General Store. The Oakdale Post Office was established Oct. 14, 1893 in the Yates and Eaton Store with W. H. V. Yates as Postmaster.

     Oakdale is actually in Washita County, but it has a close connection to Mountain View in Kiowa County.