Part of the original Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation, Dewey County was designated by Treaty of 1867 and opened to settlement by the Land Run of April 19, 1892. The county was named for Admiral George Dewey. "Taloga," an Indian word meaning "beautiful valley," is the county seat. Divided from east to west by both the North and South Canadian rivers, the construction of bridges was important to the growth of the county and did not occur until later years. The development of transportation was slow and began with the construction of the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railroad (later known as the KATY) in 1910. The KATY followed the old Western or Dodge Cattle Trail which cut through the county in the 1870s to the railhead at Dodge City. On the east side of Dewey County, the old Orient Railroad remains as the Burlington Ohio today. Sparsely populated, the land is used for agriculture and cattle raising with some horse ranches and many oil and gas wells. People of note who have lived in Dewey County are former Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Pat Irwin, TV climatologist Gary England and Prohibitionist Carry Nation. Location: Dewey County is in northwestern Oklahoma. Climate: The average precipitation is 30.6 inches yearly in this area. January's average temperature is 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit and July's average is 80.2 degrees Fahrenheit. County Seat: Taloga Distances: Taloga to: Enid - 82 miles Oklahoma City - 116 miles Land Area: 1,008 square miles of agriculture and cattle land on level plains