The next morning Mattie went with her brother to file for her piece of land.  She planned to choose the land close to the town site.  She knew this land would be worth more money.  But Mattie had to wait her turn.  James R. Wood had drawn the first claim.  Mattie had drawn the second claim. Mr. Woods pulled a trick on Mattie.  He filed a claim on land that lay in one long strip along the south side of the town site.

There was no law that said Mr. Woods had done anything wrong.  Now Mattie had to file her claim further away from the town site. But many people were very angry about such unfair treatment of a lady. They took to calling Mr. Woods “Hog" Woods. But Mattie made a better choice than Hog Woods. The land she chose was worth more than Hog Woods' land.  Her claim was on higher ground.  Hog Woods' land was in the lower Squaw Creek bottom.  His land flooded every time it rained!  Mattie’s land stayed high and dry.

After Mattie had filed her claim, she and her brother bought lumber and built a house.  They invited people over on Sunday afternoons for lemonade and cookies.  Mattie made everyone feel at home.  Everyone liked this young lady.  Many men wanted to marry Mattie because she was rich now.  She received over 500 marriage proposals. For a long time, Mattie was not interested in marriage.  Then she met Mr. Charles Payne.  He was a lumber salesman.  Mattie and Charles fell in love.  Later that year, the two were married.  They built a large beautiful home on the corner of Fourth and Summit Streets where they reared three lovely daughters, Lahoma, Martha Helen, and Louisa.

Mattie Beal, the young girl who was daring and lucky, lived happily in Lawton for many years.  She died in 1931.  Mattie donated some of her land to the city.  She asked the city to build a school, a church, and a public park.  Mattie’s family sold the home in 1939.

In 1973, The Lawton Heritage Association was formed.  People wanted to save Mattie Beal's home.  After years of work, the old home was opened to the public in 1980. Mattie Beal Home was the first landmark in Lawton to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.