Before the OK Corral, There Was Ingalls: Oklahoma’s Forgotten Gunfight

When folks talk about legendary shootouts of the Old West, the OK Corral usually hogs the spotlight. But here's the thing, Wyatt Earp’s showdown in Tombstone lasted all of 30 seconds and claimed three lives. Meanwhile, in the sleepy little outlaw hideout of Ingalls, Oklahoma, a full-blown battle broke out in 1893 that saw nine U.S. Marshals ride into town.

Pistols were drawn, bullets flew, and it resulted in more casualties than just about any other gunfight of its time.

This wasn’t some barroom scuffle either, it was a coordinated takedown by the feds, targeting none other than the infamous Doolin-Dalton Gang.

You might know them as the “Wild Bunch.”

Made up of bank robbers, train hijackers, and overall bad dudes, the gang had found a warm welcome in Ingalls. It was a haven for outlaws.

The locals knew who they were, but they mostly turned a blind eye. When you're feeding families during hard times, a little outlaw money can grease the wheels.

The U.S. Marshals Service, fresh off a reputation-polishing spree, wanted the Doolin-Dalton gang gone. So on September 1, 1893, a posse of marshals rode in, and things went sideways almost immediately.

They skinned those smoke-wagons and went to town on each other. 

It was an old-fashioned shootout in the streets, literally everything you've seen in all the famous westerns. Shooting through saloon doors, gunmen hunkered up on the rooftops. A sight to be seen.

Three lawmen were killed or mortally wounded. At least three of the gang’s affiliates died too, including a young saloon owner named Murray, caught in the crossfire. At least one bystander was shot in the leg, and when the smoke cleared, the gang got away Scott free.

It was all for nothing.

Karma always catches up with you, though...

A new US Marshall, Evett Nix, was appointed in the Oklahoma Territory and charged with capturing or killing the Wild Bunch. It took a few more years, but the bulk of the gang caught slugs in another famous shootout in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, in 1896.

So why isn’t the Battle of Ingalls better known?

It's not necessarily Oklahoma history because Oklahoma wasn't a state until 1907. Or perhaps it's because, while Hollywood cemented the gunfight into every on-screen Western known to man, nobody referenced Ingalls as the source.

Most likely, it's because the Wild Bunch fought the law, and the law didn't win on that particular day.

In 2025, there isn't much left of Ingalls, Oklahoma. A handful of residents clumped together where an infamous Outlaw Town used to be. There is a historical marker there still, but that's about it.

For one September day in 1893, it was the wildest town in the West, and Oklahoma was at the center of the action.