CESTOS

NAME: Cestos COUNTY: Dewey ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Hot Summers/Mild Winters BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime

COMMENTS: Is almost completey gone today. REMAINS: Sign and buildings.

"Cestos developed as agricultural service near the northern boundary of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation when that area was opened for settlement in 1892. The town attained its maximum population, approximately 500, between 1905 amd 1910. During that period it had fifteen stores of various kinds plus a bank, a hotel, and a newspaper. A local telephone exchange was developed for Cestos and its immediate rural area. A medical doctor and a veterinarian also served the community. Cestos became noted for its flour mill, the Cestos Milling Company. The Olympic and Sno Flake Brands, made by the mill, were marketed throughout Oklahoma Territory as it developed and in the Texas Panhandle. The mill advertised: "Our flour and mill products have stood the test above all competitors. Erected June 1904, and is equipped with Barnard& Lee's latest improved machinery. Bring your whear and grain where you canget honest weights and best prices." The mill would also exchange best bolted meal with farmers for corn. Since much wheat was grown on farms for the area, and poor roads made the slow transportation to larger markets difficult, the flour mill was a positive factor in the growth of the town. About 1915 agriculture in the Cestos vicinity began to change from the growing of grains to the grazing of cattle. In the early 1920's, as the automobile developed and highways were improved, the marketing of grain and animals and the buying of supplies for local use shifted to the rail centers to the north ans west. Cestos could not compete. U.S. Highway 60 now follows the old Main Street of Cestos as it passes where the town formerly stood. North of the road, no buildings stand, and the entire area is usually planted with wheat. On the south side of the road stands one store building, a building previously used as a church, a home, and a few outbuildings." (from p. 46 of "Ghost Towns of Oklahoma." by John W. Morris.

Cestos Town Sign Courtesy Bryan P

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