Babbs, Oklahoma Explained

Babbs, Oklahoma
Other Name:Babbs Switch
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA Oklahoma#USA
Pushpin Label:Babbs
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Oklahoma and the United States
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Oklahoma
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Kiowa
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Total:1
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1536
Coordinates:34.9483°N -99.0594°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1100186

Babbs (formerly named Babbs Switch) is a community in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Edith "Babbs" Babcock.[1] Babbs is south-southeast of Hobart, and is at an elevation of 1535feet.[2]

Babbs was the scene of the nationally known Babbs Switch Fire on December 24, 1924, in which 36 people died in a school fire. Many of the dead were children, but several families were completely wiped out. Although the Babbs school house fire is the event for which this community is best known, Babbs had as its largest feature a grain elevator that served the local farmers as a depository for small grains (wheat, barley, oats, milo) until the late 1970s, when the elevator was closed due to its age and lack of repair by its owners, "Hobart Farmer's CO-OP". There was also a gas station and a general store across Hwy 183 to the east, approximately two city blocks from the elevator. The Babbs school house was rebuilt and utilized until World War II's final days, when the Babbs school district was consolidated into the Roosevelt and Hobart school districts. All of the structures of the Babbs community are gone today and there is a small rest area and a stone marker where the original Babbs school house once stood.

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=KpAmsIFdutAC&dq=Babbs%2C+Oklahoma&pg=PA15 Shirk, George H. "Babbs." In: Place Names in Oklahoma.
  2. https://oklahoma.hometownlocator.com/ok/kiowa/babbs.cfm "Babbs(in Kiowa County, OK) Populated Place Profile." OKHometownLocator.