Editing Noble, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
On April 22, 1889, the day the first Oklahoma "Land Run" opened the Unassigned Lands in the middle of [[Indian Territory]] to settlers, J.W. Klinglesmith, Albert Rennie and several other businessmen forded the [[South Canadian River]] and laid claim to the {{convert|160|acre|adj=on}} town site that was to become Noble. The town was named in honor of [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] John Noble, who was instrumental in opening the Unassigned Lands to settlement. The group had great plans for Noble, hoping it would become the future [[county seat]].

The [[Santa Fe Railroad]] completed a railroad depot in Noble in August 1889. For several years, Noble was a major shipping point for cattle and other goods from both sides of the Canadian River. Business prospered even more when Charles Edwin Garee built a new suspension toll bridge across the Canadian River in 1898.

The suspension bridge washed out in 1904 and other communities began developing nearby. The last passenger train stopped in Noble in 1944 and the depot was moved.

===Rose Rock Capital of the World===
[[File:Rose rocks.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Rose rocks]]
Noble considers itself to be the "[[Rose Rock]] Capital of the World", as the concentration of [[barium sulfate]] in the soil is believed to be higher there than anywhere else,{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} causing the formation of rose rocks. Similar formations are found throughout Cleveland County and the [[Wichita Mountains|Wichita]] and [[Ouachita Mountains]]. Noble sets aside the first Saturday each May to celebrate its annual Rose Rock Festival. Local geologist Joe Stine and his wife opened the Timberlake Rose Rock Museum in 1986 and closed it in 2019.