Paden, Oklahoma, was founded in January 1903 by former U.S. Deputy Marshall Paden Tolbert while he was working for the Smith and Western Railroad. During the territorial period, Tolbert rode for the hanging judge, Isaac Parker of Old Fort Smith. Tolbert and Bud Ledbetter captured the Rufus Buck and Al Jenning's gangs, and Tolbert also helped kill the Cherokee bandit Ned Christie in the Battle of Rabbit Trap. After Paden's death in 1904, his wife Lucy became the second postmaster of Paden, Indian Territory. Paden became the only town in Oklahoma to be named after a U.S. Deputy Marshall.