A Little Bunch Creek Township History By Lester Odenwald --

Bunch Creek Township was created in July 1896, and was originally part of White Rock township. It was named for the creek East of Billings that drains most of the township. The first school in the township may have been on the Pleasant Hurst farm, one half mile north of where highway 15 and Central street in Billings now intersect, in the SW corner of the NW ¼ of Sec. 20-24N-2W. Mr. Hurst taught that school in the spring of 1894, five years before the town of Billings was formed. In the fall of that year a new school “Pleasant Valley” was built near where Danny Ketts Service Center stands in 2004, and a Mr. Murdock taught there. That school was later destroyed by a tornado and was replaced by a new school in the newly formed town of Billings. Fairview school and church in the NE part of the township was first located in the SW corner of Sec. 1-24N-2W, in 1897, on land donated by Z. W. Hoge, but soon after, the new Freedom Baptist Church was built in that location, and J. C. Odenwald donated land for the new Fairview school in the NE corner of Sec. 11-24N-2W, across the corner from the church. On the corner where the old church still stands in 2004, was a small town of Harperville, with a general store, blacksmith shop and from 1894 to the fall of 1900, a post office, as well as the church and school. Happy Star school was located 4 miles east of Billings on the NE corner of the George Murray claim just east and across the road from where Bob Matthiesen lives in 2004. It was built in the fall of 1902. Lantie Porter, a relative of the Matthiesen family, taught school in a “soddie” four miles NW of Billings before 1899. I have a picture of that school on the “Old pictures, page 1” section of the Billings, Ok. Web page. Glenrose school, six miles east of Billings, was the last country school I know of in this area to operate. Several smaller schools annexed to Glenrose in 1947 and 1948, and the Fairview school building was moved there. Grades 1 - 4 were held in the Fairview building and 5 - 8 in the original rock building that still stands in 2004. I graduated from there in 1951 and that school closed soon after. There was a church and general store on that corner until about 1950. The Cecil Grim family store and station was across the highway to the north of the school, and the church we attended when I was young was on the west side of the county road and south of highway 15, just North of where Max and Merlene Odenwald live in 2004. Another school "Mt. Victory" was located on the B. A. Henry homestead in the SW corner of sec. 4-24N-2W, across the road and just west of where the Odenwald Farms grain elevator is in 2004.