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Robert Jeremiah Love was a Chickasaw cowboy who created a family tradition of overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities.
Challenges early in his life included the destruction from the Civil War and death of his parents. His first big opportunity was the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1885, when Robert secured a contract to provide beef to construction crews. With cash and connections, he later founded the town of Purcell, chartered a bank and built the Love Hotel.
Seven decades later, his great-grandson, Tom Love, would overcome his own challenges to create Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores.
– Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma Historical Society
