Whizbang, Oklahoma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Whizbang, Oklahoma
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Whizbang (or Denoya) at its most prosperous in the early 1920s.
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 Whizbang, Oklahoma
Location in Oklahoma
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Osage |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1829088 |
Whizbang, officially called Denoya, was an Oklahoma petroleum boom town in the 1920s and 1930s. Located in Osage County, 1.5 miles north and 1.5 miles west of the present town of Shidler, the Whizbang area at its peak had a population of 10,000 persons and 300 businesses. It was considered the rowdiest of the many oil field towns in Oklahoma.
History
Whizbang was officially known as Denoya by the post office which did not consider the name Whizbang to be dignified. Denoya was the name of a prominent French/Osage Indian family.
Perhaps the most infamous of the Oklahoma oil boom towns, Whizbang (or Denoya) came into existence overnight in 1921 when E.W. Marland drilled a 600 barrel per day oil well and precipitated an "oil rush" to the area. Both the quality and quantity of the petroleum were superb. The origin of the name "Whizbang" is uncertain. It may refer to a cartoon character.
Whizbang was a violent place. The bank was robbed twice and "it wasn't safe for a woman to be on the streets after dark." Highway robbers frequently robbed travelers along the road to Shidler at a place called "Pistol Hill." A man called "Jose Alvarado", whose real name was Bert Bryant was hired by oil companies to keep the peace. Alvarado, a Texan, had ridden with Pancho Villa in Mexico. He was considered "everything from a cold-blooded killer to a Robin Hood." He got into a gunfight with a lawman from a neighboring town.
With the exhaustion of the petroleum reserves in the late 1920s Whizbang declined. The post office, established in 1921, was closed in 1942, and today little remains of the town except a network of old roads.
Persons who lived and worked near Whizbang during its heyday included oilmen E.W. Marland and Frank Phillips and future actors Ben Johnson, Jr., a cowboy and rodeo star, and Clark Gable who worked as a roustabout in the oil fields.
Today
Today the rubble and remains of Whizbang can easily be seen from the road. Several sidewalks parallel the road, and a number of building foundations are in the area. A few occupied houses are nearby.
