Ardmore in Carter County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)

Noble Brothers Hardware

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 21, 2019

1. Noble Brothers Hardware Marker

Inscription. The Noble Brothers, Sam and Ed, arrived in Ardmore, Chickasaw Nation, in 1893, from Oakland Prairie, Pickens County, after a brief sojourn in Pottsboro, Texas, where they were partners in a general merchandise business and operated a ferry crossing the Red River into Indian Territory.

The brothers married sisters Hattie and Eva Skinner, from their former home in western New York, and had made the land run when the Cherokee Outlet was opened for settlement. After staking claims but choosing not to prove up their homesteads, Sam and Ed turned their eyes toward the raw frontier village of Ardmore, a town of 2,000 residents and made it their last stop.

Their wholesale grocery store, a wooden structure on east Main Street near the railroad tracks was destroyed in the great fire of 1895, with a complete loss of property except for the company books which were rescued by Eva Noble, Ed’s wife. Viewing the destruction, the brothers made a decision to abandon the wholesale grocery business and instead to become hardware merchants in space rented for this new venture east of the Santa Fe freight depot.

Five years later,

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the brothers had sufficient funds to build a brick structure for the Noble Brothers Hardware Store at this location. The new store measured 40 by 70 feet, then an addition of 25 by 90 feet was added to the busy establishment. They stocked such popular equipment as Racine buggies, Studebaker and Moline wagons, John Deere and Eagle plows, wood stoves and Eagle plows, wood stoves and ranges.

Here in an atmosphere that reeked of leather and packing grease and masculine conversation, young Lloyd Noble, Sam’s son and delivery boy for the store, listened to the farmers and ranchers of the area and became aware of the many problems associated with their economic struggles. After a spectacular career in the oil business – he created Noble Drilling Company and Samedan Oil Corporation among others - in 1945, he established the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, a charitable trust with the primary goal of addressing the needs of local farmers and ranchers.

Erected by Ardmore Main Street Authority.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1893.

Location. 34° 10.375′ N,

Marker can be seen mounted to the front of the store. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 21, 2019

2. Marker can be seen mounted to the front of the store.

Now the Marquis Furniture Company.

97° 7.822′ W. Marker is in Ardmore, Oklahoma, in Carter County. It is at the intersection of West Main Street (Oklahoma Route 199) and B Street SW, on the left when traveling west on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 128 West Main Street, Ardmore OK 73401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Chickasaw Nation

and in South Central Oklahoma—Chickasaw Country.

It is also in the American South,

specifically on the prairies,

and on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Federal Courthouse (1898) (within shouting distance of this marker); Luke’s Music Store (within shouting distance of this marker); Randol Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); Carter County Courthouse (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Banker's National Bank Building

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(about 300 feet away); The First National Bank and Trust Company of Ardmore (about 400 feet away); Simpson-Little-Colston Building (about 400 feet away); Carter County (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ardmore.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 704 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.