Oklahoma Historical Society

Est. 1893 • The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people.

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Crystal Beach Park bandshell in Woodward, Oklahoma, in June 1936

(20296.50, Frank L. Saunders Collection, OHS)

[FOX23 @FOX23]

The organizers of the Route 66 Caravan are looking back on what it felt like to travel the entire road. Click the link to learn more about their experience.
https://t.co/Wx4Cy8lCH9

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Then and Now: Route 66

The Milk Bottle Grocery in Oklahoma City is hard to miss! The brick building was finished in 1930, and the milk bottle was added to the top around 1948. It is made of sheet metal.

#Route66 #MotherRoad

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

This is what Independence Day celebrations looked like in West Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, in 1889!

(20941.77.188.24, Museum of the Western Prairie Collection, OHS) #IndependenceDay #America250

[Today's Document @TodaysDocument]

President Nixon, Speaker of the House Carl Albert, Chief Justice Warren Burger, and David Mahoney, Chairman of the Bicentennial Commission at the National Archives
https://t.co/1fQ4uJa31x

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

This photo from 1910 shows a Frisco train crossing the Cimarron River bridge in Mannford, Oklahoma.

Fun fact: Construction on Oklahoma’s first railroad started in the summer of 1870. At that time, there were already more than 52,000 miles of railroads in the United States. 🛤️

[Tara Blume @tcblume]

Clinton, Oklahoma's Route-66 Musuem is setting attendance records. This week they hit a record for one-day revenue and so far this year, attendance has increased by 300% compared with the same period last year. Courtesy @okhistory

[Smithsonian Magazine @SmithsonianMag]

Sequoyah’s syllabary faced suspicion initially, but after a demonstration, his version of “talking leaves” was widely embraced. And then the word spread. https://t.co/CzHn4suFJr

[Tulsa's News Pulse | KTUL @KTULNews]

If you are an independently-owned business along Route 66, a group is set to make available funds to lend you aid. Find out if you are eligible and where to apply.
https://t.co/xRXCEmWzwM

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Reunion was held in Oklahoma City from July 1–4, 1900.

[US Department of the Interior @Interior]

On this day in 1898, Theodore Roosevelt led the Rough Riders up Kettle Hill during the Battle of San Juan Heights, calling it "the great day of my life."

The charge made him a national hero and helped launch the political career that carried him to the presidency. 🧵

[National Air and Space Museum @airandspace]

Who has a favorite space or aviation toy from childhood? 🙋‍♀️ Toddlers could pilot this early 1980s ride-on toy and command their own Space Shuttle mission, playing astronaut by scooting around and “sending” messages back to Earth on the handset.

The toy, on display in Futures in Space, was procured for sale in the 1980s at a Vietnamese-American Asian/international grocery store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Spend July 4 at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, OK! They have a living history come-and-go event planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy popular games and crafts of the 1890s, listen to patriotic music, play some trivia, and more! Admission is free for students.

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

This photo (c. 1903) shows 30,000 bushels of corn at the Geary Mill and Elevator Company in Geary, Oklahoma Territory.

🌽 Did you know that corn was a principal crop for the Five Tribes in Indian Territory?

#IndianTerritory #OklahomaTerritory #Corn #Farming

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

On this day in 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned as a federal highway. The 2,448-mile road was largely replaced with interstates, which generally provided faster and safer direct travel.

This 1985 pic shows a Route 66 sign being auctioned off in Clinton, OK, for $370.

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Welcome to Oklahoma!

[OKC THUNDER @okcthunder]

All together now 📸

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Then and Now: #Route66

The Redland Theater in Clinton, Oklahoma, opened in 1922 as the Rialto Theater. It received its current name in 1950 after being remodeled. Guests could watch silent movies, stage shows, and more. The property is no longer a working theater.

[OsiyoTV @osiyo_tv]

June 30 marks the 72nd anniversary of Cherokee writer #LynnRiggs passing.

Long before “Oklahoma!” became one of America’s most famous musicals, he penned the story behind it.

✍️ Watch Lynn Riggs story in a past Cherokee Almanac:https://t.co/yFIcEaTLir

[Governor Bill Anoatubby @GovAnoatubby]

Today marks 90 years since the Chickasaw Nation acquired the land known as Kullihoma. Located just east of Ada, Kullihoma is a place where many Chickasaw families settled after arriving in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, from our historic Homeland.

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

A woman born in OK was the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter as depicted on the “We Can Do It!” poster. Naomi Parker Fraley was born in 1921 in Tulsa, OK. She later worked in a US Navy machine shop in California, at which time she became the subject of a wartime labor poster.

[Library of Congress @librarycongress]

On this day in 1924, Rosalind Walter, the woman who inspired the character of Rosie the Riveter was born. These stunning photos of real "Rosies" from the U.S. Office of War Information are in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. https://t.co/fRISARMtqv

[Oklahoma Historical Society @okhistory]

Stay cool and discover something new this summer at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s museums and historic sites! Buy a membership today and enjoy free admission for one year! Learn more at https://t.co/53D91MYsUw.