In 1910, the state capitol moved to Oklahoma City after the state seal was supposedly stolen from the original state capital in Guthrie.

In November 1907, the telegram declaring Oklahoma’s statehood was received at this building. The first announcement was made from its windows to crowds below.

However in Guthrie, the State Capital Publishing Co. Building was a printing plant, which later became a printing museum that closed in 2012. The Guthrie Tomorrow Coalition is in the process of raising millions of dollars to take full ownership of the building and plans to eventually re-open it for public use.

– Tori Garrett, Jones PR

The Cherokee Nation elected its first female chief, Wilma Mankiller, 30 years ago.

Born in Tahlequah in 1945, Mankiller was elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1983. The single mother was the first female elected to this role. Two years later, Mankiller succeeded Principal Chief Ross Swimmer. In 1987 she was elected, in her own right, as the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served for a decade despite facing multiple challenges.

Mankiller, who died in April 2010 of pancreatic cancer, spent her life opening doors for women in public office and the Cherokee Nation.

– Tori Garrett, Jones PR

Oklahoma takes pride in its Native American history and culture, especially the Cherokee Nation.

The Cherokee Nation just debuted Sequoyah’s Cabin Museum, its newest museum attraction in Sallisaw. Sequoyah was a vital part of Cherokee history, as he invented the syllabary they used for communication and writing.

Opened on June 29, Sequoyah’s Cabin was an elaborate project from the Cherokee Nation. In November of 2016, the Oklahoma Historical Society signed over operations for the project to the Cherokee Nation in order to finish construction on the cabin.

The Cherokee Nation exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM to 4PM.

– Christian Franklin, Jones PR

Before the Land Rush of 1889, Reverend Sylvester Morris, a Methodist missionary, owned what is now the oldest house standing in Tulsa. The simple, side-gabled house dates back to 1885.

This historic house, originally located on the 400 block of North Cheyenne Avenue, was relocated to its current location in 1976 after it caught fire, which attracted the attention of historian Beryl D. Ford, who discovered letters to Morris dated in 1895 within the plaster walls.

Morris was reportedly shot by lawmen that mistook him for a whiskey peddler. His horses continued home, carrying his body in the carriage.

– Ashley Ross, Jones PR

Oklahoma never fails to astonish us when it comes to history.

At the end of the longer, skinnier chunk of Oklahoma lies Boise City, a small town with less than 2,000 people. But what makes Boise City special? It may not be its location, but rather its interesting history.

On July 5, 1943, Boise City was the only continental U.S. city to be bombed during World War II. The surrounding town lights confused pilots flying B-17 Flying Fortress Bombers, making them mistake Boise City as a target for practice.

Hopefully, Boise City isn’t still holding a grudge!

– Christian Franklin, Jones PR

The birthplace of “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” is a perfect destination for classic summer activities.

Will Rogers was born in 1879 at Dog Iron Ranch along Oologah Lake. He lived there until his mother died in 1890; afterward, his family moved to nearby Claremore.

Today, visitors can check out 400 of the original 60,000 acres on Birthplace Ranch. Guests are welcome to enjoy a free tour, trail or picnic as well as see some of the Texas Longhorn cattle.

This summer, visit the place Will Rogers called home. Birthplace Ranch is open daily from 10AM-5PM.

— Tori Garrett, Jones PR

Fifty years and six months ago, millions of television viewers tuned in to watch the crowning of small-town Oklahoma girl Jane Jayroe as Miss America in 1967.

Jane Jayroe was born in Clinton in 1946 and was raised in Sentinel and Laverne. She may be best remembered as a TV news personality in OKC and Dallas.

Jayroe recalls her adventure to Atlantic City to compete in the Miss America Pageant, one of the most watched television shows on the air. “I never even considered it (to win),” said Jayroe. “It was just pure joy for me to be there.”

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

A vast civilization once stood on the banks of the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma. Initially a small farming village, Spiro Mounds fueled its expansion and became one of the most important regional centers in the Mississippian culture. Spiro’s trade network spread from the Rocky Mountains to the Virginia coast and from the Great Lakes to Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center gives visitors a unique glimpse into the culture of these prehistoric Native peoples. Museum exhibits, guidebooks and walking trails immerse visitors in this fascinating period of Oklahoma history.

Learn more via Crossroads from the Oklahoma Historical Society.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

If you’re from Catoosa or surrounding areas, you know “Blue” as the friendly cement whale with a toothy grin wading in an offset pond. The waterfront structure has become one of the most recognizable attractions on Route 66.

Hugh Davis built the Blue in the early 1970s as a surprise 34th-anniversary wedding gift for his wife Zelta, who collected whale figurines. Davis unveiled the 80-foot-long whale that he constructed out of pipe and concrete originally for his kids, but by the mid-1970s, Blue had quickly evolved into a local summer hot spot and family travel destination.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

James Herman Banning was born in Canton, Oklahoma Territory, on Nov. 5, 1900, on an Oklahoma homestead to caring parents Riley and Cora Banning.

Banning attended school in a small schoolhouse his parents built. He later relocated to Guthrie to attend Faver High School. In spring 1920, Banning took his first airplane ride while attending an air circus in Iowa. His curiosity and enthusiasm developed immediately after his first trip through the clouds.

Banning would eventually earn pilot’s license number 1324 in 1926, becoming the first African-American aviator to obtain a license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

Historic Fort Gibson was established in 1824 and was located farther west than any other US military post in existence. The remote region was truly the western frontier.

Originally built to protect the US border and to maintain peace between American Indian tribes, Fort Gibson was intermittently occupied by military troops until it was abandoned in 1890. When the soldiers arrived in Fort Gibson in April 1824, they arrived with their supplies, tents, draft animals, a few keelboats and equipment to build a fort.

Today, Fort Gibson Historic Site is designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

For each item on display at the Oklahoma History Center, hundreds more are in storage with every piece acting as a portal to the history of a notable person or a big story.

The Curators’ Corner, a new space in a small nook on the third floor of the Oklahoma History Center, is being used to reserve space for new arrivals or old stories that catch a historian’s eye.

Museum curators specifically choose the artifacts based on the unique and compelling stories they tell. The artifacts in Curators’ Corner will rotate approximately every six months in the Noble Foundation Gallery.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

In 1950, the world’s first yield sign was placed at the corner of First Street and Columbia Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The intersection was believed to be the most dangerous in Tulsa, and Officer Clinton Riggs, Tulsa native and police officer, developed a new idea to alleviate collisions.

The original sign was yellow, keystone shaped and read “Yield Right of Way” in bold black letters on a bright background. Within one year of the sign’s posting, collision rates dropped dramatically. Inspired by its success, Tulsa posted additional signs throughout the city, and they became an invaluable addition to road safety.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

Genealogy is more popular than ever as it serves as a useful tool to learn more about ourselves in present time. Since 1893, the Oklahoma Historical Society has been collecting resources to help Oklahomans learn about their family trees.

The OHS Research Center offers free access to websites like Ancestry.com and Fold3. These websites have resources, including United States census records; birth, death, marriage, military and immigration records; American Indian resources; Freedmen’s Bank records; and countless others. At the research center, you also can view the largest collection of Oklahoma newspapers in the state.

Read Crossroads for more information.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

The most notorious outlaws of yesteryear Oklahoma will forever live in infamy.

Belle Starr, nicknamed Queen of the Oklahoma Outlaws for her style and crack shot, fled authorities by hiding in the San Bois Mountains caves, now known as Wilburton and Robbers Cave State Park.

Pretty Boy Floyd was raised in Sallisaw and robbed 50 banks during 1931. He reportedly stole from the rich and gave to the poor.

Bonnie and Clyde, the notorious gangster duo, were responsible for many brutal crimes. They hid in Medicine Park in southwest Oklahoma. Today, their cottage is a favorite for many history buffs.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a 56-line poem that changed Christmas forever. Now known as “The Night Before Christmas,” Moore’s poem created the modern image of Santa Claus.

His inspiration was two legendary figures, St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop known for gift giving, and Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of St. Nicholas.

Moore depicted Santa Claus differently than ever before with fur, named reindeer and a flying sleigh. However, illustrator Thomas Nast created the first likeness of a jolly, white-bearded Santa with a sack full of toys, red suit, North Pole workshop and elves.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

Oklahoma native Gayla Peevey is the famous voice behind the 1953 hit song, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

Peevey was born in 1943 in Oklahoma City and began singing at church during preschool. In fourth grade, Peevey appeared regularly on TV stations WKY and Channel 4 in Oklahoma City. At the age of 10, she caught the eye of Columbia Records.

Peevey and her mom traveled from Oklahoma to New York to meet with Mitch Miller, a well-known record company executive and producer. Together, they created the catchy, classic song that we play on repeat during the holidays.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

When people think of Oklahoma and its natural resources, it’s likely that oil comes to mind. However, it was a different black gold that fueled Indian Territory and present-day Oklahoma’s early economic growth — coal.

Rich deposits of coal in southeastern Oklahoma helped develop the railroad and with it came immigration and industry.

French explorer Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe is credited with the first written account of the discovery of coal in Oklahoma in 1719, though it is known that the Plains Indians used coal in southeastern Oklahoma for hundreds of years prior to La Harpe’s account.

– Dr. Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma History Center

In 1909, oilman Bill Skirvin thought Oklahoma City needed a grand hotel.

He hired the architect Solomon Layton and built two wings of the ten-story Skirvin Hotel on lots south of the Frisco Depot on 2nd Street. In the 1920s, he added a third wing and topped it with more floors, including the Venetian Room. Then came the Great Depression, urban renewal and a banking crisis. The Skirvin closed in 1986.

In 1999, Mayor Kirk Humphreys thought Oklahoma City needed another grand hotel. With city support and historic tax credits, the restored Skirvin opened to national acclaim in 2007.

– Dr. Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma History Center

Tulsa’s Hex House was inspired by one of Oklahoma spookiest, true stories.

A 1944 investigation found two women had been under “hypnotic control” for seven years. They claimed that Carolann Smith was leading them to the good life in heaven. While the women lived in rags in an unheated basement and slept on orange crates, she lived in luxury.

Smith was convicted of suborning perjury, released a year later and never seen again.

The house was demolished in 1975, but was recreated in 2008 as an immersive walk-through attraction that has been called one of America’s best haunted attractions.

– Emily Long, Jones PR

As a teenager, Jack Zink built his first race car from leftover spare car parts. He quickly stepped up to stock and midget cars while earning a degree in engineering at Oklahoma State University. Before his racing career ended, Jack’s teams won the Indy 500 twice, in 1955 and 1956, created Pontiac NASCAR, and put the first turbine-powered race car on the track at Indy.

Zink’s other racing feats also included sailing championships and Baja 500 titles. As a day job, he built an international company called Zeeco.

Yes, Jack “liked to go fast.” He also liked to win.

– Dr. Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma History Center

S&H Green Stamps were highly popular U.S. trading stamps from 1930s to the late 1980s. The stamps were distributed as part of a rewards program operated by the Sperry & Hutchison company. The rewards catalog was the largest publication in America with the company distributing three times more stamps as the U.S. Postal Service.

Customers would receive stamps during checkout at department stores, gas stations and supermarkets, which were redeemable for products in the catalog. Additionally, it’s widely unknown that the highly sought-after stamps were printed in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, to be distributed all around the nation.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

In history, few achievements happen by accident. Most are accomplished by leaders, such as Cyrus Avery.

Cyrus’ family moved to Cherokee Nation in 1883 when he was 12 years old. He became an entrepreneur in Oklahoma City, Vinita and Tulsa, where he was elected as county commissioner and grew into an advocate for good roads. In 1925, after Congress funded the first interstate highway system, Cyrus was named chairman of a committee to select the first transcontinental highway.

Through no accident, the route came south from Chicago to Cyrus’ hometown, Tulsa. He called it Route 66, the Will Rogers Highway.

– Dr. Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma History Center

Robert Jeremiah Love was a Chickasaw cowboy who created a family tradition of overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities.

Challenges early in his life included the destruction from the Civil War and death of his parents. His first big opportunity was the construction of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1885, when Robert secured a contract to provide beef to construction crews. With cash and connections, he later founded the town of Purcell, chartered a bank and built the Love Hotel.

Seven decades later, his great-grandson, Tom Love, would overcome his own challenges to create Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores.

– Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma Historical Society

In the mid-nineteenth century, Mazeppa Thomas Turner, born to Scottish parents in Virginia, married a Chickasaw woman named Laura J. Johnson.

Mazeppa became a farmer in Murray County and in 1878, he and Laura moved into a cabin on the edge of Honey Creek, where Turner discovered a stunning 77-foot waterfall pouring into a natural pool below.

Today, this waterfall, located six miles south of Davis, Oklahoma, is reportedly the largest in the state of Oklahoma, as well as a feature of a 1500-acre popular recreational area. It’s known as Turner Falls, appropriately named after Mazeppa Thomas Turner.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

In 1953 WWII veteran Troy Smith converted an old log home into an upscale restaurant in Shawnee. In front was a little root beer stand called Top Hat.

By the end of the first year, Troy noticed that the net profit of the steak house was less than five percent of gross, while the net profit at the root beer stand was 20 percent. To increase the gross revenue, he added carhops, awnings, music and two-way speakers.

When he tried to franchise the concept in 1959, Top Hat was already taken. Therefore, the new name he selected was Sonic.

– Dr. Bob Blackburn, Oklahoma Historical Center