One of the most charismatic and controversial governors of the 1930s was Governor William
H. Murray from Oklahoma.
What did Murray do to become so well-known?
Why did he become controversial?
William H. Murray was born in Toadsuck, Texas on November 21, 1869.
The family moved to Montague, Texas after his mother died and his father remarried.
At the age of twelve, young Bill decided to leave home.
He was eventually adopted by another family who had him attending school in the winter
and working on farms during the summer.
As he got older, he worked as a salesman, a teacher, a newspaper reporter, and a lawyer.
But, he was first and foremost a farmer.
He always liked to tell people that he “believed in the family farm, the values of Thomas Jefferson,
and the greatness of the Democratic Party.”
In 1898, Murray moved to Tishomingo, which was the capital of the Chickasaw Nation in
Indian Territory.
He became involved in politics while living in Indian Territory and served as one of the
representatives at the Sequoyah Convention.
This was a meeting which attempted to create a state out of Indian Territory (the eastern
half of present-day Oklahoma).
Murray was also president of the constitutional convention when Oklahoma finally became a
state in 1907.
He was the state’s first Speaker of the House, a member of Congress, and he ran for
governor twice and lost, all before 1924.
Bill Murray seemed to be a constant figure in Oklahoma politics.
In many of his speeches, he frequently referred to a plot of land which he grew alfalfa on.
One newspaper referred to him as “Alfalfa Bill.”
The nickname stayed with him throughout the remainder of his life.
Then, in 1924, Murray and his wife led a group of American colonists, most of them Oklahomans,
to Bolivia.
Once they were in Bolivia, they attempted to establish an agrarian colony.
The attempt failed miserably, and only five years later, in 1929, they returned to Oklahoma.
Alfalfa Bill had lost all of his money in the effort.
So, he borrowed $40 from a bank in Tishomingo and started a campaign for governor.
Murray traveled across the state in a worn-out car, stopping at street corners to give speeches.
He ate his lunch out of a paper bag while talking about politics with anyone who would
listen.
He was frequently unshaven and his clothes were dirty.
He presented himself as a down to earth common man.
He won the 1930 election by more than 100,000 votes, becoming Oklahoma’s ninth governor.
This was the largest victory of any Oklahoma governor up to that time.
During his career as governor, Murray called out the National Guard on 47 occasions and
declared martial law 30 times.
The most famous of these was the two month incident known as the “Toll Bridge War”.
In the summer of 1931, Oklahoma National Guardsmen faced off against Texas Rangers over a “free
bridge” that had been built across the Red River to replace an older toll bridge.
When the governor of Texas, Ross Sterling, sent Rangers to barricade the Texas side of
the new bridge (as part of a court injunction), Governor Murray sent National Guardsmen to
remove the barricades and keep roads to the bridge open.
The Texas injunction against the new bridge was eventually dissolved.
As governor, Murray became one of the early national leaders in the effort to help those
hurt by the Great Depression.
He used his own salary to feed the poor and collected money from state employees and businessmen
to finance relief programs to aid those suffering during the economic crisis.
Alfalfa Bill’s popularity even carried him onto the national scene.
In 1932, he attempted to become the Democrat nominee for president.
He participated in several primary elections, but eventually lost the nomination to Franklin
D. Roosevelt.
Despite his failed effort to win the presidency, Governor Murray's legacy continues to live on.
Not only in Oklahoma, but across the nation.
There is little doubt, that Alfalfa Bill Murray will continue to endure
as one of the most interesting yet controversial figures of the 1930s.