Volume 9 , Issue 17

1910 - State Capital Removal

Oklahoma's Statehood papers and through the Enabling Act of 1906 made Guthrie, Oklahoma the state capital until at least 1913.

Oklahomans voted in 1910 to move the capital to Oklahoma City. Governor Charles N. Haskell, in a dead of night (June 11, 1910), allegedly stole the state seal from Guthrie, Oklahoma and Governor Haskell moved his office to Oklahoma City. The state officials soon followed Haskell.

The location of Oklahoma's capital was a controversial topic throughout the territorial period and during early statehood. Even though the Enabling Act of 1906 made Guthrie the capital of the new state until 1913, attempts to move the capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City failed because the legislature and Guthrie residents did not approve.

The state seal is/was a marker used to declare the capital location and officiate all state business. In 1910, the seal was "taken in the dead of night" by Governor Charles. N. Haskell to Oklahoma City. When Governor Charles N. Haskell removed his office to Oklahoma City the state officials soon followed.

The controversy about the "stolen" seal led to legal proceedings involving the Oklahoma Supreme Court until the legislature passed a bill permanently locating the seat of government in Oklahoma City. The US Supreme Court said the bill was valid, but the "stolen" seal remains a topic of interest today.

You can research State Senate and House Bill files, records from the office of the Governor, and the records of the State Capitol Preservation Commission.

Following a proposition by Democratic Governor Haskell in 1910, who considered Guthrie to be a "Republican Nest," the voters approved Oklahoma City as the new capital. The state seal was removed from Guthrie on the night of June 11, 1910, and Governor Haskell declared Oklahoma City to be the capital on June 12th, 1910 where it remains today. The change was immediate and the federal courts upheld Governor Haskell.
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