Historic Marker Sign Leads Noble Residents to Disappointment

By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

NOBLE, Oklahoma -- South of Noble along Highway 77, a roadside sign tells drivers that a historical marker lies one mile ahead. But a mile ahead there is no marker, and no one in Noble can remember ever seeing one.

"I have never seen a marker. I've seen a sign telling me a marker one mile. I wonder about what happened to it and what is it," said resident Phyllis Kenney.

"I seen the sign, but I really just never looked for the marker. I looked the side of the road, and I didn't see it. But I didn't think seriously about it, you know," said resident Nina Banks.

There are two theories about what the missing marker said. One is that it recalls the 1832 expedition of Washington Irving.

"We thought it was where the Washington Irving party had camped. We're now hearing that's not true," said Noble City Manager Bob Wade.

Washington Irving did come through what is now Oklahoma in 1832. But his route bypassed Noble.

A second theory holds that the sign commemorates the 1834 March of the Dragoons, which came near Noble. Oklahoma Department of Transportation records indicate there was a roadside marker about the Dragoons.

"We also have in some of our files references to a March of the Dragoons marker in the area of Noble along highway 77," said David Meuser with ODOT.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation believes the marker may be in a storage lot in Ada, but ODOT isn't sure what's on the sign.

ODOT sometimes removes markers when they get worn, when there's road construction, or when the markers become a hazard. ODOT said it may take a while before the marker--or a replacement, can be put in place.