Red Fork emerged from the difficulties of crossing the Arkansas River, which before the Frisco Railroad bridge was built in 1883 forced cattle drivers moving herds from Texas to Kansas to wait with hundreds of cattle for their turn to ford the river in the area that would become Red Fork, about four miles southwest of the actual crossing. When the Frisco established a railhead on the west side of the river, Red Fork gained a new role as an endpoint for cattlemen and railroad workers and soon had general stores and a railroad depot. Although the Frisco line was extended to Sapulpa two years later, the community remained, and after oil was discovered at Sue Bland No. 1, prospectors and entrepreneurs arrived in large numbers. The government then laid out 160 acres for a town site, and Red Fork incorporated in 1902. New buildings housed city hall and a library, and the interurban line connected the town to the Glenn Pool oil fields and to offices and shopping in Tulsa. Red Fork was annexed by the City of Tulsa in 1927, shortly after Sapulpa Road, later Southwest Boulevard, became part of Route 66, and Red Fork Corner developed a dense cluster of businesses serving both local residents and travelers on the Mother Road.