Description

In 1915, the discovery of oil in El Dorado had a massive impact on not only the area, but the entire oil industry. But what about the people who lived and died here before "the oil field that won World War I" was discovered?
Long before Stapleton #1 appeared on the horizon, a new town in Butler County called El Dorado was founded, named after a legend that tells of a golden city somewhere in the Americas. Pioneers flocked to Butler County in the 1870s, lured by the cheap prairie land and big promises.
The cemeteries of El Dorado tell the quiet stories of perseverance and hardship of these early pioneers' lives. Small family cemeteries, forgotten graves in vanished settlements, and a cemetery relocated to make way for El Dorado Lake serve as silent reminders of the individuals who shaped this land.
This book explores El Dorado's early days through the cemeteries that preserve the memory of the pioneers who made it their home, long before oil reshaped the landscape.