Volume 15 , Issue 23

Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Stillwater, OK

The following historic walking tour of downtown Stillwater, Oklahoma, was found online in pdf format, brought to you by the City of Stillwater Public Library. We will mention only a few items from the pdf file for those interested in in the history of downtown Stillwater, Oklahoma.

It begins it's history at the intersection of Ninth and Main, as you look to the northwest corner, and the building where everything started. It was formerly known as the "Swope Building" which has been altered drastically, but you can see a mural commemorating its past. Amon Swope was an active participant in the founding of Stillwater, and started the first bank in this building. The first city council meetings, church services and public school classes were all held here. Later businesses at this location included the New York Racket and Cooksey's Grocery.

At 401 East Ninth, you would see the Stillwater Santa Fe Depot. In its early days, Stillwater had to fight hard to keep its position as the county seat and remain the location of the Oklahoma A&M College. One of the reasons was that there was no rail service into town, and travelers had to endure buggy rides over bumpy prairie to get in and out of Stillwater. Citizens breathed a sigh of relief when tracks were finally laid into town in 1900. At the time,t he depot was a wooden frame structure, but in 1911 the Santa Fe Company agreed to build a new brick depot if the city would make necessary improvements in the area, which included the brick street. passenger service to and from Stillwater ended in 1957. After several years as a restaurant, the building now serves as headquarters for the Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity and the Tau Beta Sigma Sorority. It was place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Very interesting history and walking tour of downtown Stillwater, and worth a read through completely.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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