History of the City of Lawton

OUR HISTORY The City of Lawton, Oklahoma Having sprung up almost overnight with little prior planning, Lawton had no form of municipal government at its outset. Townspeople, living in tents for many months, were busy building homes and businesses, and setting up a government was not a high priority. Since Lawton was established as the county seat of Comanche County, it was first ruled, then, by the county government appointed by the governor of the Oklahoma Territory. In late October of 1901, an election was held, and the Lawton city government was formed. The first officers elected were mayor, city clerk, judge, treasurer, city attorney, street commissioner, city marshall, eight city councilmen, a school board treasurer, and eight school board members. This mayor-council system lasted until 1911, when Lawtonians voted in a charter-commission form of government with three commissioners. In 1921, Lawton again switched governments, to one of five commissioners and a city manager. Then a year later, voters repealed the charter and returned to the politically aligned mayor-council form of government. This form lasted for 50 years, when in 1972, voters adopted a charter and the council-manager system, which is still in place today