Whizbang

Overview

The wildest town in the Osage oil field

Whizbang grew up in 1921 on the Osage Reservation near present-day Shidler. Sources place it differently: Wikipedia's text puts it 1.5 miles north and 1.5 miles west of Shidler, NonDoc about four miles north of Burbank, and the federal place-name record (GNIS) point we map sits about 2.5 miles west and 1 mile south of Shidler. E. W. Marland's company drilled a well that made 600 barrels a day, and the rush that followed built a town almost overnight. Accounts put it at about 10,000 people and 300 businesses at its peak, and it had a name as the rowdiest oil town in Oklahoma. Its bank was robbed twice.

The post office would not use the name Whizbang and called the place Denoya, after a prominent French and Osage family. Where Whizbang came from is uncertain. The usual story ties it to the joke magazine Captain Billy's Whiz Bang; another says it imitated the noise of oilfield machinery. Treat both as stories.

By the late 1920s the oil was running out and people left. The Denoya post office closed on September 30, 1942.

Timeline

Twenty years of oil

1. 1921E. W. Marland's company brings in a 600-barrel-a-day well, and an oil rush builds a town overnight. A post office opens under the name Denoya.
2. 1920sPeak years. Accounts put the town at about 10,000 people and 300 businesses. The bank is robbed twice.
3. Late 1920sThe oil pools play out and the town starts to empty.
4. Sep 30, 1942The Denoya post office closes.

What's here

Foundations in the pasture

Very little is left. Wikipedia describes building foundations, sidewalks and a network of old roads that you can see from the road, and a few occupied houses nearby; NonDoc in 2022 called it little more than a few rocky ruins. Visit The Osage says almost nothing remains and the site takes knowing where to look.

• Building foundations
• Sidewalks
• Old street network
• A few occupied houses nearby

The 1916 sheet in the historic maps below, drawn before the boom, shows only section-line roads in open country. At the mapped point the 1964 sheet shows a crossroads with a handful of buildings, surrounded by a grid of lease roads and dozens of oil wells. None of the sheets labels the town by name.

Historic maps

Whizbang on USGS maps, 1916–1985

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19161:62,50019551:250,00019641:24,00019851:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

The routes below lead to the GNIS point west of Shidler, on County Road 4751. Ponca City is the closest city with full services; from Tulsa it's about two hours through Pawhuska.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Whizbang in photos

Concrete foundations identified by the photographer as Denoya (Whizbang), March 2013The 1916 USGS sheet, before the boom: section-line roads between Hay Creek and Salt CreekThe 1964 USGS sheet: a crossroads with a few buildings among lease roads and oil wells

Visitor reports

Been to Whizbang?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Whizbang

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Oklahoma index.

• Carter Nine3.0 mi SE · Osage
• Lyman5.4 mi N · Osage
• Washunga7.3 mi W · Kay
• Kaw City8.8 mi W · Kay
• Foraker10.6 mi NE · Osage
• Ralston18.3 mi S · Pawnee
• Cross21.5 mi W · Kay
• Blackburn28.0 mi S · Pawnee

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Whizbang, Oklahoma", retrieved October 2026: Marland well, Denoya name, peak population and businesses, bank robberies, 1942 post office closing, remains (undated), location in its text and coordinates.
2. NonDoc, "Long gone, Whizbang prospered in the wild days of Oklahoma boomtowns", Heide Brandes, January 4, 2022: name stories, reputation, location north of Burbank, "a few rocky ruins", post office closing date of September 30, 1942.
3. Visit The Osage, "Hidden gems": almost nothing remains; the site takes knowing where to look.
4. ghosttowns.com, "Whizbang": listing and fact-sheet cross-check.
5. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Status checked against the sources above on October 19, 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Concrete foundations identified by the photographer as Denoya (Whizbang), March 2013: Japratt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The 1916 USGS sheet, before the boom: section-line roads between Hay Creek and Salt Creek: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
• The 1964 USGS sheet: a crossroads with a few buildings among lease roads and oil wells: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
• Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Foraker 1916, 1:62,500; Enid 1955, 1:250,000; Shidler 1964, 1:24,000; Pawhuska 1985, 1:100,000.