[5]: 1 [6] Southwestern Oklahoma was once part of a vast sea of grass stretching as far as the eye could see, populated by millions of buffalo and claimed by Texas, but ruled by the Comanche and Kiowa people.

[5]: 1  After the last free bands of Comanche and Kiowa were confined to the reservation at Fort Sill in 1875, the area became safe for cattle drives.

From 1876 to 1892, millions of longhorns were driven from Texas to Dodge City, Kansas, and Ogallala, Nebraska, over the Great Western Cattle Trail which passed through the middle of what is now Friendship.

[5]: 8 [6] Over the years, a number of communities, including Clabber Flat, Alfalfa, Lone Oak, Ricks, Riverside, Pleasant Point and Navajoe, were settled in the Friendship area.

[5]: 32 After World War II, improved transportation allowed area residents to take their trade to Altus, and there was a pronounced exodus from the farm to the city.