As a result, a group of heavily armed men from Checotah attempted to seize the records, but were forced to surrender during the gunbattle that ensued.

[1][3] On the afternoon of January 9, 1907, the territorial government in Guthrie, sent a telegram to Checotah stating that the legislative committee had selected the town as the temporary seat of McIntosh County, until an election could be held to decide new a permanent location.

The people of Checotah were very happy with the surprising news, since being selected as the temporary county seat meant having a better chance of becoming the permanent one in the upcoming election.

[1] Their good fortune soon turned into disappointment, however, when a Eufaula attorney and delegate to the constitutional convention named William C. Liedtke heard of the news.

Liedtke delivered a "rousing" speech in support of Eufaula to the general assembly on January 17, and called for a vote to decide the matter.

A two-story building on the northeast corner of Main Street and Riley Avenue was then rented for use as a courthouse, and the county records were moved there.

Ultimately, the problem cast doubts on the legitimacy of the entire election and created a controversy about the propriety of the earlier count, which reported that Checotah was the winner.

One Guthrie newspaper described the situation: "Checotah has a tail-hold and a down-hill pull but Eufaula has a bull-dog grip in the flank, and will hold on until the [county] offices are moved.

"[1] W. Frank Jones was a former deputy US marshal who lived in Checotah and one of the major "boosters" for his town in the county seat contest.

[1] On Sunday morning, June 7, 1908, a "squad" of about twenty-five heavily armed men under the command of Frank Jones boarded a special train in Checotah and rode the fifteen miles south to Eufaula.

[1][4] While marching there, two Eufaula deputy city marshals named Kelser and F. M. Woods briefly confronted Jones, who told them "to get off the streets, else they would get the contents of his gun."

[1][4] The first casualty in the ensuring battle was Marshal Woods, who was mortally wounded by Special Deputy Sheriff Joe Parmenter.

Ken Butler says that Jones had to do "a lot of coaxing" to get his men to lay down their arms and give up the records they had taken, but he eventually succeeded.

The intersection of Main Street and Foley Avenue, adjacent to the telephone building, was a "no man's land" and also the central point of the battlefield.

[4]Shortly after the train of Checotah men pulled out of town, a former deputy US marshal named "General" Dunlap decided to seek out and arrest the county clerk, Edward C. Julian, who was suspected of collaborating with Jones and his raiders.

Dunlap, who was reported to have been drinking before attempting to make the arrest, then headed for the hotel in the Foley Building, which is located at the same intersection the Checotah raiders had occupied.

Frank Jones went back to his home in Checotah and years later wrote a book about his adventures while serving as a lawman in Oklahoma.

Marshal of the Indian Territory, discusses many of Jones' experiences during his long career as a lawman, as well as other adventures after his retirement, but it makes no mention of the McIntosh County Seat War.