John Ireton is said to have moved to Indian Territory in 1876 from Winfield, KS. His parents, John and Elizabeth [Sullivan] Ireton, were from Ireland. John was sometimes called "a wild Irishman". He married Mary Johnson, who was half-Choctaw. The Dawes Roll shows that John applied to the Dawes Commission for enrollment in the Choctaw Nation as an intermarried citizen in 1896. Through his marriage to Mary, they acquired hundreds of acres of land through the headrights of their ten children.

Grady County historians tell us that the old community known as Ireton was named for John Ireton. And, the book, "Oklahoma Place Names" by George H. Shirk (1965) agrees by saying Ireton, OK was named for "John Ireton, a local Choctaw allotee and head of a large family of that name".

Depending on which local historian you talk to, the old community of Ireton is said to have been "3 miles northeast of Alex, OK" or "just across the Washita River, 4 miles north of Bradley, near Laflin Creek". Both descriptions are correct and in Grady County.

John and Mary Ireton's home hosted the first Ireton school which started about 1890-91 as a subscription school. A post office was located there from June 1, 1898 to September 30, 1919.

Sadly, John died in a fire at his home in 1907. Mary followed him in death in 1908. The community of Ireton lived on though. Eventually though, Ireton was farm community that disappeared. Locals in the area still remember the Ireton Community and the Ireton family.

And........even though the Ireton community was named for John Ireton, he is not buried there. His Ireton Family Cemetery is closer to Alex, OK than Ireton.

Alex Tribune May 28, 1909 – "D. R. Ireton erected a handsome monument over his parents grave. It is made of the finest Italian marble and stands fourteen feet high."