Welch

History

Welch was established in 1888 in the Cherokee Nation on land that D. B. Nigh leased from Frank Craig. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (Katy) had built a line through the area in 1871, and in 1891 it built a switch on Nigh's property, providing a shipping point for local hay and grain. The town that began to grow around the switch was named for a Katy railroad official, A. L. Welch. A post office was established in 1892. The town plat was approved in 1902, and the town incorporated in 1909. A newspaper called the Welch Watchman began publication in 1902, and continued in business, although later renamed as the Welch American, until the mid 1960s. In 2003, Welch had two convenience stores, a grocery store, a feed store, Thomas Funeral Home, the Blossom Shoppe, a meat processor, a livestock sale barn, two cafés, a new automotive shop, two saddle shops, an assisted-living retirement home, Graham Equipment Company, and a new medical office, among other enterprises.}} On the night of December 29–30, 1999, firefighters responded to a fire reported at the home of Danny and Kathy Freeman in Welch. After extinguishing the blaze, they found the body of Kathy Freeman in one of the bedrooms, where she had been shot in the head, and also found that the fire had been deliberately set. Initially, they found no other bodies, but noticed that both Danny and their teen-age daughter, Ashley, were missing. The family car was in the driveway, with the keys in the ignition. The local police immediately assumed that the father had killed the mother and kidnapped Ashley. When Lorene and Jay Bible woke on the morning of December 30, they discovered that their daughter, Lauria, had not come home after spending the previous day with Ashley Freeman, her best friend. They found Dan's body…

Geography

Welch is north of Vinita, the county seat, and west of Miami, the seat of Ottawa County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• WELCH ES
  Elementary · Welch · 135 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• BLUEJACKET ES
  Elementary · Bluejacket · 110 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• WELCH HS
  High · Welch · 88 students · 8:1 ratio
• WELCH MS
  Middle · Welch · 63 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• BLUEJACKET HS
  High · Bluejacket · 48 students · 12:1 ratio
• BLUEJACKET MS
  Middle · Bluejacket · 44 students · 14.7:1 ratio