History of Collinsville

Drawn by the fertile bluegrass prairie and the huge coal beds beneath, settlers from all over began to gather to form a community. The year was 1897, and this was the beginning of what is now Collinsville.

The new, settlement (located about one mile east of the present town site on the R. E Graham allotment) was without a name for a short time. However, the citizens persuaded Dr. A. H. Collins, a surveyor and engineer, to move his post office (located on his allotment about two miles north of Owasso), to the new town site. To get Collins to move it, it was promised that the new town would be named after him. On May 26, 1897, the Collins post office was established, then on June 16, 1898, the name was changed to Collinsville.

"In accordance with the court proceedings held at Muscogee, Indian Territory Northern District, on April 1, 1899, in which the Petition for Incorporation of the Town of Collinsville, Indian Territory, was granted, the same bearing the Honorable Judge William Springer's signature." (Taken from the Collinsville News, Volume 1, Number 1, May 11, 1899.)

For almost two years, the community of Collinsville (Old Town) flourished. Charley "Jack" Taylor was the first mayor. EB. Dunaway and A. J. Clawson established the first store in town. Clawson was also postmaster.