Visitors can learn how state evolved

By Max Nichols

Published: November 4, 2007

With celebration of the Oklahoma Centennial nearing its Statehood Day highlight Nov. 16 in Guthrie, visitors can learn where and how the 46th state evolved at historic sites, historic districts and museums across Oklahoma.

Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society and state historic preservation officer, and Melvena Heisch, Oklahoma deputy historic preservation officer, were asked to suggest 10 historic places that reflect Oklahoma's history and its enduring culture, economy and political system.

"We set out to choose historic places that are accessible to visitors in every part of Oklahoma,” Blackburn said. "We also looked for sites that tell stories unique to Oklahoma and the diversity of people who live and work here. In addition, we wanted a chronological, geographical and thematic balance of places representing Oklahoma's past.”

Heisch, who heads the state's program to identify and record historic properties, provided research that led to their choices. They include sites where American Indians, blacks, a wide variety of European settlers and government and industry leaders made the history now being celebrated with the Oklahoma Centennial.

Feel free to disagree and post nominees online at www.TravelOK.com.

1.Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, near Spiro in Le Flore County, eastern Oklahoma. This 80-acre site reflects late prehistoric Indians who lived from about A.D. 800 to 1200. It originally included 11 mounds, believed to be used for temples and burials. After archaeological excavations from 1936-41, two mounds remain and are aligned with the vernal equinox. Archaeologists believe it was an important spiritual center in the Mississippian culture. No other archaeological site has as much art, Blackburn said, and it is believed that the elite of that culture were buried there. A museum is open seven days a week.

Information: (918) 962-2062; www.okhistory.org/Museums/SpiroMounds.html.

2.Santa Fe Trail Autograph Rock near Boise City, seven miles north of State Highway 325 and seven miles west of U.S. 287. More than 320 names are engraved in sandstone by people who traveled on the Santa Fe Trail through the Oklahoma Panhandle during the 1840s and 1850s.

Names include Coronado, Spanish explorer who would have passed there in the early 1540s, and Col. Kit Carson, one of the most famous Western frontier explorers. Four ruts of the trail remain nearby. Autograph Rock is an official part of the National Park Service Santa Fe Historic Trail. An interpretive center is coordinated by the National Park Service. The land is owned by Don Sharp, who works with the National Park Service to make it available to visitors.

Information: (580) 544-3344; www.nps.gov/safe.

3.Sequoyah's Cabin, seven miles east of U.S. 59 on State Highway 101. Built with logs in 1830 by Sequoyah, who moved there after developing the 85-character Cherokee alphabet in 1821. The 10-acre area is surrounded by a stone wall. The cabin and museum are operated by Oklahoma Historical Society. Basics of Cherokee history and language are taught for visitors. Open Tuesday through Sunday. Sequoyah is one of two who represent Oklahoma in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Information: (918) 775-2413; www.okhistory.org/Homes/SequoyahCabin.html.

4.Honey Springs Battlefield, two-and-a-half square miles near Rentiesville, four miles north of Checotah off U.S. 69. Blackburn said it is significant in Oklahoma history because it represents a unique Civil War event. It tells the story of Indians who fought for the Confederacy and of blacks who fought for the Union in the 1st Kansas (Colored) Volunteers, the first black unit to fight in the Civil War.

The main battle was fought on July 17, 1863, when the 1st Kansas faced the 20th and 29th Texas Regiments at 25 paces in the center of the Union line and then in hand-to-hand combat near Elk Creek. The visitors center, monuments and four trails are open to the public, including the site where the 1st Kansas fought. The Union won control of Indian Territory with the victory.

Information: (918) 473-5572; www.okhistory.org/Military/HoneySprings.html.

5.Fort Sill, near Lawton, founded Jan. 8, 1869, by Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan to deal with Kiowa and Comanche tribes. Named Fort Sill on July 2, 1869, after Gen. Joshua Sill, Sheridan's West Point classmate who was killed in the Civil War. Includes about 50 buildings constructed in the 1870s and 1880s.

The Sherman House was named after Army Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, who narrowly escaped death when Kiowa leader Stumbling Bear shot an arrow at him during a peace conference.

Fort Sill's black history features historic Flipper's Ditch, a system to drain swamps and marshes, designed by Lt. Henry O. Flipper, first black graduate of West Point, to solve a malaria problem. Fort Sill also was the home of the 10th Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers,” black soldiers who helped patrol the settlement of what became Oklahoma Territory.

Other sites include the Fort Sill Museum at 473 Quanah Road, the Guardhouse where Apache Chief Geronimo was jailed, the gravesite of Geronimo, the Field of Flags, the Field Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame, Hamilton Hall with artillery pieces from the Revolutionary War to 1900 and one of two existing balloon hangars that housed self-powered observatory balloons. The hangar was built in 1935.

Information: Fort Still Museum (580) 442-5123; sill- www.army.mil.

6.Guthrie Historic District, one of America's largest historic districts, features sites of Oklahoma settlement in the 1889 Land Run, where the Oklahoma Constitution was written, the capital of Oklahoma Territory and the first capital of Oklahoma. Sites include the Oklahoma Historical Society's Oklahoma Territorial Museum, the State Capital Publishing Museum and the Carnegie Library, constructed in 1901 for $835,000.

Frank Frantz, the seventh and last governor of Oklahoma Territory, took his oath of office on the Carnegie steps in 1905. Charles Haskell took his oath as first governor of Oklahoma there Nov. 16, 1907. The ceremony featured a symbolic wedding of Muskogee's Mrs. Leon Bennett of Indian Territory and Oklahoma City's C.G. Jones of Oklahoma Territory.

On June 16, 1908, women of the Oklahoma Betsy Ross Association began designing the Oklahoma state flag at the Carnegie Library. Other places include the Guthrie Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, the National Four String Banjo Hall of Fame, the National Lighter Museum, the Oklahoma Frontier Drug Store Museum and the Oklahoma Sports Museum. Guthrie's downtown includes commercial architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries influenced by noted architect Joseph Foucart.

Information: Guthrie complex (405) 282-1889. www.ok history.org/Museums/Pub lishing.html.

7.State Capitol complex, including the state Capitol, the Governor's Mansion and the new Oklahoma History Center. Construction on the state Capitol began in 1914 and was completed in 1917, without a dome. The dome was completed in 2000 with private funds and a state bond issue.

The Capitol is the home of the governor's office, other state offices and the two houses of the Legislature. The rotunda features significant paintings of outstanding Oklahomans, including Sequoyah, Will Rogers, Jim Thorpe, Robert S. Kerr and five ballerina stars. Guided tours are available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Governor's Mansion was built in 1928.

The Oklahoma History Center, opened in 2005 northeast of the Capitol, ties together all of the stories of Oklahoma history with a tremendous collection of artifacts and exhibits plus a research division. The History Center is open to the public seven days a week.

Information: Oklahoma Historical Society at 521-2491; www.okhistory.org; www.ok.gov. Governor's Mansion (405) 522-8871; www.gov.ok.gov/mansion tour.php.

8.Greenwood District of Tulsa, scene of the Tulsa Race Riot in 1921. A memorial is being built. The Greenwood Cultural Center at 322 N Greenwood Ave. includes the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, featuring gospel, jazz and blue musicians with Oklahoma ties, and the Mable B. Little Heritage Center plus a photographic exhibit of the riot, music, books and memorabilia. In addition, this district tells the story of the segregated economic development of blacks before and after the riot, Blackburn said. The district was called the Black Wall Street by Booker T. Washington.

Information: Greenwood Cultural Center, (918) 583-4545; www.greenwoodculturalcenter.com.

9.Route 66, the historic highway that spans Oklahoma from north of Miami through Tulsa and Oklahoma City and west to Texola on the Texas border. It is part of a famed highway that was designated in 1926 and extended from Chicago to Los Angles.

The National Register of Historic Places includes a 17.7-mile stretch of the original Route 66 road from Bridgeport to Hydro in Canadian and Caddo counties. It includes the 3,944-foot William H. Murray Bridge over the South Canadian River. Museums include the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City and the Roger Miller Museum in Erick featuring information showcasing Roger Miller, who sang "King of the Road.”

Nearly 50 attractions include the Coleman Theatre Beautiful in Miami, the Blue Whale between Catoosa and Claremore, Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Foyil, the Rock Cafe opened in 1939 by Roy Rives in Stroud, the Round Barn in Arcadia, the Milk Bottle Building in Oklahoma City and Lucille Hammans' gas station in Hydro. Visitors also can see the Riviera Courts Motel west of Miami, the Chelsea Motel in Chelsea and the West Winds Motel in Erick.

Information: The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, (580) 323-7866; www.route66.org.

10.New Deal properties, which were built primarily by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the New Deal program of President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933-43 to provide jobs and community development.

They include the Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur, Lake Murray State Park south of Ardmore and Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton. They also include Oklahoma City's Taft Stadium, Will Rogers Park and the former Lincoln Park Zoo and Amphitheater (now the Oklahoma City Zoo), plus Mohawk Park in Tulsa, Wintersmith Park in Ada, Perry Lake Park in Perry, and Ponca Lake Park in Ponca City.

Lake Murray State Park, 1.9 miles from the junction of U.S. 77 and U.S. 70, was the largest of eight Oklahoma state parks built under the New Deal program. The Oklahoma Legislature appropriated $90,000 for the land in 1933 and named the park after Gov. William "Alfalfa Bill” Murray. The CCC, which included men ages 18-25 who were paid $30 per month, opened a camp near the state park site in 1934. The WPA built Tucker Tower on a ridge known as Devil's Kitchen.

The park was the first to include complete camp facilities for blacks in Oklahoma, which was segregated at that time. It was dedicated in 1937 and is operated by the state Tourism and Recreation Department. Parks include landscapes, trail systems, buildings, structures and things to do for an entire family. Lake Murray State Park and Robbers Cave State Park are listed on the National Register.

Information: www.oklahoma parks.com/detail.asp?id=1+5 U+3607.

"These 10 historic places provide a solid beginning for visitors to learn firsthand about the remarkable history of Oklahoma,” Blackburn and Heisch said, "but there obviously are far more in every corner of Oklahoma, including more than 30 museums and sites operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society.”

Max Nichols writes a monthly column for the Oklahoma Historical Society.

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