Politics & Art: The Controversial Birth of the Oklahoma Writers' Project (open access)

Politics & Art: The Controversial Birth of the Oklahoma Writers' Project

Article describes the details of the Oklahoma Writers' Project created by Federal One, a program created by the New Deal to provide employment to struggling artists and writers. Mary Ann Slater provides commentary on the challenges and pitfalls faced and created by the leader of the project, William Cunningham.
Date: Spring 1990
Creator: Slater, Mary Ann
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Waynoka and the Birth of Transcontinental Air Service (open access)

Waynoka and the Birth of Transcontinental Air Service

Article describes the construction of Waynoka Transcontinental Air Transport, Inc. airport and its history as a stop on the transcontinental line where passengers transferred from airplanes to railcars. Thomas A. Wikle and Dale R. Lightfoot explore its impact on the town and what became of the airport after the passenger service ended.
Date: Summer 2016
Creator: Wikle, Thomas A. & Lightfoot, Dale R.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Through the Ether: The Birth of Radio in Central Oklahoma (open access)

Through the Ether: The Birth of Radio in Central Oklahoma

Article describes the birth and success of radio broadcasting in the 1920s, narrowing the focus from the wider sphere of the U.S. after World War I to the creation of WKY radio station in Oklahoma City.
Date: Summer 1983
Creator: Tolman, Donald K.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Fort Sill and the Birth of US Combat Aviation (open access)

Fort Sill and the Birth of US Combat Aviation

Article covers the history of Fort Sill as an aircraft, artillery unit, and observation balloon training center throughout both World War I and World War II, providing historical context for its importance in the field of military aviation.
Date: Spring 2019
Creator: Wikle, Thomas A.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Cyrus Avery, the Ozark Trail, and the Birth of Route 66 (open access)

Cyrus Avery, the Ozark Trail, and the Birth of Route 66

Article describes the foundations of Route 66 and the national highway system in bicycling culture, the Good Roads Associations, and Tulsa county commissioner and Ozark Trails Association leader Cyrus Avery.
Date: Autumn 2017
Creator: Jones, Jen
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Tinker's Twin Twisters of 1948 and the Birth of Tornado Forecasting (open access)

Tinker's Twin Twisters of 1948 and the Birth of Tornado Forecasting

Article describes the destructive paths of the tornadoes that struck Tinker Air Force Base on March 20 and March 25, 1948, and pays tribute to Robert C. Miller and Ernest J. Fawbush, the two weathermen who predicted the second tornado and changed the field of weather forecasting forever.
Date: Autumn 2000
Creator: Crowder, James L.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Courts of the Cherokee Nation (open access)

Courts of the Cherokee Nation

Article narrates the experiences of one lawyer who was licensed by the Old Cherokee Bar. He recounts how the Cherokee nation dealt with legal matters within the 19th Century.
Date: Spring 1924
Creator: Thompson, William P.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
The Aboriginal Chickasaw Nation (open access)

The Aboriginal Chickasaw Nation

Article details how the Chickasaw tribe traveled and named various landmarks within North America prior to colonization. Included are descriptions of customs and notable events that molded the tribe.
Date: Winter 1937
Creator: Bond, Janet
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Education in the Cherokee Nation (open access)

Education in the Cherokee Nation

Article chronicles the establishment and impact of education systems within the Cherokee Nation.
Date: Winter 1943
Creator: Knepler, Abraham Eleazer
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Francis, Chickasaw Nation, 1894 (open access)

Francis, Chickasaw Nation, 1894

Article describes the establishment of the town of Francis, originally known as Newton, in Indian Territory, Oklahoma. Reita Sturdivant discusses the town's growth and development, the institution of railroads, the type of pioneers that settled there, and the content of newspapers being published in its early days.
Date: Summer 1967
Creator: Sturdivant, Reita
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Twenty-five Days to the Choctaw Nation (open access)

Twenty-five Days to the Choctaw Nation

Article provides historical context for the journal entries of George Dana II, which relay the course of his difficult journey from Ohio to the Choctaw Nation to reunite with his bride-to-be, Lucy Byington.
Date: Winter 1986
Creator: Coleman, Louis
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
The Golden Age of Bloomfield Academy in the Chickasaw Nation (open access)

The Golden Age of Bloomfield Academy in the Chickasaw Nation

Article chronicles the history of Bloomfield Academy, an all-female mission school within the Chickasaw District of Indian Territory. Included within the article is an appendix focused on the closing exercises of the seminary in 1904.
Date: Winter 1971
Creator: Mitchell, Irene B. & Renken, Ida Belle
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Spencer Academy, Choctaw Nation, 1842-1900 (open access)

Spencer Academy, Choctaw Nation, 1842-1900

Article describes the need for and establishment of Spencer Academy in the Choctaw Nation. W. David Baird explores the leadership behind the institution, its religious connections, events during the Civil War, and the rebuilding of the academy after it burned down.
Date: Spring 1967
Creator: Baird, W. David
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Medical Practices and Health in the Choctaw Nation, 1831-1885 (open access)

Medical Practices and Health in the Choctaw Nation, 1831-1885

Article illustrates how the Choctaw people combined traditional medical practices with those created by Europeans during a time where diseases spread rapidly and killed indiscriminately.
Date: Spring 1970
Creator: Allen, Virgina R.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
William G. Bruner, Member of the House of Kings, Creek Nation (open access)

William G. Bruner, Member of the House of Kings, Creek Nation

Article remembers Creek leader and respected rancher William G. Bruner, who was also elected "Town King" in the House of Kings of the Creek Nation. Orpha B. Russell explores the man's career through the recollections of those who knew or encountered him.
Date: Winter 1952
Creator: Russell, Orpha B.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Seaborn Hill: Trader in the Creek Nation and Frontier Businessman, 1808-44 (open access)

Seaborn Hill: Trader in the Creek Nation and Frontier Businessman, 1808-44

Article examines the life of successful trader Seaborn Hill through documentation of his life and the mysterious case of his murder by displaced Creek Indian Agent agent James L. Dawson.
Date: Autumn 2017
Creator: Siebold, John W.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
From Bard to Speculator: Alexander Lawrence Posey and the Muscogee Nation, 1902-08 (open access)

From Bard to Speculator: Alexander Lawrence Posey and the Muscogee Nation, 1902-08

Article explores Muscogee Indian Alexander Posey's role as a speculator and member of one of the Dawes Commission enrollment parties.
Date: Spring 2012
Creator: Widener, Jeffrey M.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Letters of Henry M. Rector and J. R. Kannaday to John Ross of the Cherokee Nation (open access)

Letters of Henry M. Rector and J. R. Kannaday to John Ross of the Cherokee Nation

Article includes and discusses correspondence between Henry M. Rector, Governor of Arkansas, Lieutenant Colonel J. R. Kannady, and Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation. Harry J. Lemley explores Ross's efforts to remain neutral as both Confederate leaders sought to ally with Cherokee Nation during the Civil War.
Date: Autumn 1964
Creator: Lemley, Harry J.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
"The Indian Home is Undone": Anglo Intrusion, Colonization, and the Creek Nation, 1867-1907 (open access)

"The Indian Home is Undone": Anglo Intrusion, Colonization, and the Creek Nation, 1867-1907

Article describes the history of Anglo-American intrusion and colonization of Creek lands within Indian Territory in Oklahoma, as well as the response of the Creek Nation in the face of interference, forced relocation, and allotments. Douglas A. Hurt describes the way the Creeks strengthened their communities during a time of unrest.
Date: Summer 2005
Creator: Hurt, Douglas A.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Governor Cole (open access)

Governor Cole

Article narrates a night Coleman Cole stayed within a home on his journey throughout Choctaw Nation. Coleman Cole was the principal chief of the Choctaw Nation. Included is a letter regarding the creation of Statehood Day within Oklahoma.
Date: Autumn 1926
Creator: Locke, Victor M.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Henry Frieland Buckner (open access)

Henry Frieland Buckner

Article details how Henry Frieland Buckner and his wife became missionaries within the Creek Nation during the anti-missionary era of the late 1800s.
Date: Winter 1936
Creator: Routh, E. C.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Governor William Leander Byrd (open access)

Governor William Leander Byrd

Article chronicles the history and significance of the Byrd family. This family were prominent socialists within Virginia before William Leander Byrd became the governor of the Chickasaw Nation.
Date: Winter 1934
Creator: Meserve, John Bartlett, 1869-1943
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Witness to History: Booker T. Washington Visits Boley (open access)

Witness to History: Booker T. Washington Visits Boley

Article describes Booker T. Washington's visits to the all-black town of Boley, Oklahoma, to show his support for the community. Norman L. Crockett includes documentation from the time to provide a more detailed picture of the renowned educator's visits and studies the birth and death of the town.
Date: Winter 1989
Creator: Crockett, Norman L.
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Notes on the Life of Mrs. Hannah Worcester Hicks Hitchcock and the Park Hill Press (open access)

Notes on the Life of Mrs. Hannah Worcester Hicks Hitchcock and the Park Hill Press

Article chronicles the life of Hannah Worcester Hicks Hitchcock as she worked with the Park Hill Printing Press and as a missionary within the Cherokee Nation.
Date: Winter 1941
Creator: Wright, Muriel H. (Muriel Hazel), 1889-1975
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History