The land was given to the Creek Nation by the federal government, but was taken back after the American Civil War.

Limited archaeological surveys may have discovered evidence of pre-contact peoples, including Paleo-Indian and Archaic (6000 BC - 1 AD) groups that used the area for hunting and foraging.

The historic Osage, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes traversed the prairie grasslands of this area.

At the end of the American Civil War, the Creeks were forced to cede the land back to the federal government for siding with the Confederacy.

[3] Originally this area was called County 5, when the Organic Act of May 2, 1890, created Oklahoma Territory.

[4] At an August 5, 1890, election, the voters of County 5 overwhelmingly voted for the name "Kingfisher" over "Hennessey" and "Harrison".

The second version is that King and Fisher were two different settlers, whose names were combined for the county and town.

Prior to that, the farm had drawn some attention to itself by having armed guards visible at its perimeters, who hasselled anyone stopping nearby, including postal delivery personnel.

Roxana was a boomtown during that period, but quickly declined its population peaked at one thousand people.

In 1895, the Association of Congregational Churches of Oklahoma Territory chartered Kingfisher College, and opened it for instruction on September 2, 1895.