U.S. Congressman Scott Ferris was born in Missouri and graduated from the Kansas City School of Law (now the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law) in 1901. Late that summer he moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, and opened his law and real estate office. Ferris served in the Territorial Legislature before statehood and, in 1907, served as the representative from Comanche County in the first state legislature. He lived for many years in Lawton and was elected to the U.S. Congress (1907-1921). Interestingly, Congressman Ferris, Senators Elmer Thomas and Thomas Gore all began their political careers as lawyers in Lawton in 1901 and rose to prominence in national politics.