Madill is the outdoorsy, close-knit Marshall County seat
Madill overlooks cattle ranches and vast wheat fields just a few miles from Lake Texoma and the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. A community of about 4,000 and the seat of Marshall County, Madill is known for its outdoorsy, small-town vibe. Manufacturing and agriculture are the top industries, and fishing, hunting and boating are popular weekend pastimes. “It’s a small, country community,” says Realtor Royce King, broker/owner of Bob King Properties and Madill native. “What really stands out is that the people are all close. Most of them are related to more than one person around here.”
Madill’s median sale price is about $175,000
Prairie and Craftsman homes are common close to the center of town, giving way to cottages, manufactured and ranch-style homes with several acres of land on the outskirts. New Traditionals are prevalent in subdivisions like The Vines, The Prairie and The Edge. Oaks and elms shade broad, grassy front lawns, long driveways and sidewalks throughout Madill. Prices range from under $100,000 to about $490,000, but the median hovers around $175,000.
Glasses Creek is prone to flooding, and Marshall County is vulnerable to tornadoes. “We do get tornadoes, but it’s the hail that comes with those storms that usually does the most damage to our cars and our roofs on our houses and our barns,” King says. Summers here get hot and humid, with average high temperatures reaching above 90 degrees. Winters are usually chilly with some snowfall and average lows in the 30s.
Playgrounds, picnic areas and waterfront recreation in/around Madill
William Ray Memorial Park, formerly Madill City Park, has picnic areas, a playground and courts for tennis, volleyball and basketball. It’s also home to Madill City Pool, an outdoor swimming pool. Madill City Lake, less than 2 miles west of the park, has a boat ramp and a fishing pier, along with covered picnic areas and a playground. Marinas on Lake Texoma and the Red River, including Little Glasses Resort & Marina and Buncombe Creek Marina & Resort, are within 20 miles of Madill. “There are a ton of resorts around there, where you can do fishing, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing, everything water-related,” King says. The Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, also close, offers fishing and boating on the Cumberland Pool and the Washita River. The nature preserve also has looped trails of varying lengths through grasslands and along the water. Seasonal deer, turkey and wild hog hunting is also permitted in the refuge.
Madill High offers dual enrollment at Murray State College
Madill Public Schools earns a B grade from Niche and allows controlled inter-district open enrollment. The Madill Early Childhood Center, which is not rated, serves preschoolers through first graders. Older students may attend Madill Elementary (B) and Madill Middle (B-) between second and eighth grades. Madill High (B) offers dual enrollment classes at Murray State College in Tishomingo, about 15 miles away. The public community college is known for its two-year nursing associate degree program.
Shopping/dining on First Street and in Madill’s town square
Shops and businesses surround the Marshall County Courthouse in Madill’s historic town square. There’s a Sharpe’s department store, Lowe’s Furniture & Carpet and municipal offices like the Madill Tag Agency. Madill Auto Supply, on the south side of the square, is close to Woody Ford Madill, the oldest Ford dealership in Oklahoma. Auto repair shops and convenience stores are scattered along U.S. Route 70, known locally as First Street. The main road also has a Dollar General, an Atwoods Ranch & Home Goods and a Walmart Supercenter, as well as several restaurants, including The Perfect Pie Pizzeria and El Tapatio Restaurant, a popular Mexican spot. King recommends Hobo Joe’s, on First Street just north of the town square. “It’s owned by a local family, and they do country kitchen-type food,” he says.
The annual National Sand Bass Festival
Downtown Madill hosts the National Sand Bass Festival in June every year. “It’s a pretty big event, it’s been going on for about sixty years now,” King says. “When it first started, they used to serve the sand bass they’d catch in Lake Texoma. That quit in the ‘70s, it got too big.” In recent years, week-long festivities include carnival rides, live music, local vendors and turtle races, as well as fishing and the Sand Bass Run footrace.
Quick access to AllianceHealth Madill, U.S. Routes 70 and 377
The AllianceHealth Madill hospital, a big local employer, is located on the southwest side of town within about 5 miles of most homes. “It’s a nice facility,” King says. “They’ve done a lot of remodeling there over the years – we have access to CT scans and MRIs there now, and there are some new clinic buildings.” JAMM Transit provides public transportation service to Marshall County. U.S. Route 70 connects west toward Ardmore and Interstate 35, which runs north into Oklahoma City. The state capital is just over 120 miles from Madill. U.S. Route 377 heads northeast to Tishomingo and south toward Texas.
