Tahlequah in Cherokee County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)
First Telephone in Oklahoma
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2024
1. First Telephone in Oklahoma Marker
Here in September 1885 the first telephone in Oklahoma was connected for service. It was the first telephone in the Mississippi Valley west of St. Louis.
The company was organized by a group of Cherokees, namely: D. W. Lipe, L. B. Bell, R. M. Wolfe, J. S. Stapler, J. B. Stapler and E. D. Hicks.
This monument erected as a public service by the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
Erected by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1885.
Location. 35° 54.79′ N, 94° 58.254′ W. Marker is in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in Cherokee County. It is at the intersection of South Muskogee Avenue (Business U.S. 62) and East Delaware Street, on the right when traveling north on South Muskogee Avenue. The marker is located near the northwest corner of the Cherokee National Capitol Square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 South Muskogee Avenue, Tahlequah OK 74464, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Cherokee Nation and in Northeast Oklahoma Green Country. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Ozarks, on the prairies, and on the Southern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: John Brian Stapler (here, next to this marker); Cherokee National Capitol (within shouting distance of this marker); Replica of the Statue of Liberty (about 300 feet away, measured in
this page online
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Telehpone Industry (Oklahoma Historical Society).
Excerpt: In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell was credited with inventing the telephone. By 1884 the U.S. Army had strung a telephone line between Fort Reno and Darlington, Indian Territory, although in 1879 or 1880 they had experimented with the process using existing telegraph lines that ran from Fort Sill to Fort Reno. In 1886 Indian Territory entrepreneurs, including Edward D. Hicks, Clarence W. Turner, John B. and James S. Stapler, Lucien B. Bell, and John Scott, extended a commercial telephone line from Tahlequah to Fort Gibson and on to Muskogee. There the headquarters existed at Turner's hardware store, and in Tahlequah the Stapler and Sons Hardware Store(Submitted on October 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)hosted the telephone line.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 20242. First Telephone in Oklahoma Marker
2. Early Telephone History in Oklahoma, by John M. Noble.
Excerpt: One of the first telephone lines west of the Mississippi River, if not the first, was built by E. D. Hicks, in the year 1886, or but ten short years after the invention of the telephone, and ran from Tahlequah to Muskogee. One of the amusing incidents in connection with the construction of this primitive line, which was built mostly on trees, with a few trees cut for poles where native trees were not available, was that in securing the consent of the Cherokee tribe to build the line, it was with the understanding that it should not parallel any roads or paths. As a consequence, it was built through the forest and from tree to tree in a very crooked and disorderly manner, without any surveys or other plan being attempted than the running of a wire.(Submitted on October 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 12, 2024
3. First Telephone in Oklahoma Marker
Looking southeast; the Cherokee National Capitol Museum is in the background.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 334 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 24, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
