Lyman was a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, located about 20 miles (30 driving miles) northeast of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and 30 miles southeast of Winfield, Kansas, the two closest population centers.[1] [2] It became an oilfield boomtown shortly after the discovery of the Burbank field in 1920.[3] It was named after A.J. Lyman, who platted the town and sold the lots.[3]
It was substantial enough that beginning July 2nd, 1923 and completing in early 1924, the Osage Railway extended its trackage northwesterly from Shidler, Oklahoma through Webb City to terminate in Lyman.[3] [4] By March 22nd, 1924, a post office had been established.[3] But the oil production decline in the area starting in the late 1920s, and the Great Depression, hit the town hard.[3] The school closed in 1929, the district merging with Webb City.[3] Oil refining in the area tapered off after World War II, and the Osage Railway was abandoned in 1953.[3] [5] The post office closed in February of 1956.[3]