Norman the University City

Norman the University City. The U.S. census of 1910 indicated that the young City of Norman had a population of 3724. As the home of the University of Oklahoma, it was understandable that providing education would be the destiny of this community. In 1893 the first public school, Eastside School, renamed Jefferson Elementary in 1909, was established followed in 1895 by Westside School later renamed Washington Elementary in 1909. In February 1909 construction began on a new high school located on the northeast corner of Gray and Ponca streets. , By November 1909, the new Santa Fe depot was completed and within the next year several blocks of Main Street had been paved to help accommodate the estimated 20 to 30 automobiles that were competing with horse-drawn wagons and buggies. Also in 1910, Dr. D.W. Griffin was appointed superintendent of the sanitarium (later to become Central State Hospital). In 1912, the chamber of commerce chose for the city's motto the winning title offered by L.J. Edwards – “Norman, the University City”. With the city assisting in the financing of the right-of-way, the interurban line from Oklahoma City was extended to Norman in November 1913. , The United States entered World War I in 1917 and the citizens of Norman joined in the war effort. Beginning in 1920, the city began requiring building permits and by 1924 Norman was one of the first cities in Oklahoma to adopt a zoning ordinance. In the spring of 1922, an estimated crowd of 7000 people watched 150 Klansmen in full robes parade in the city. Also in the early winter of 1922, two new elementary schools, McKinley and Lincoln, were completed. In 1924, ten acres north of the high school was acquired for a football and track field (to become Hardie Field) and a campaign to build the American Legion Memorial Hospital began. , The new McFarlin Methodist Church was dedicated in December 1924 with an estimated 10,000 people attending six services. Norman approved a bond issue in 1926 for a new high school to be built north of the existing building, which became the junior high school, and in the same year WNAD radio station went on the air. In 1929, Norman's new library opened and in 1930, Wilson, the fifth elementary school, was completed. , On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the stock market collapsed and Norman joined the rest of the country into the Great Depression. In addition to the depression, Oklahoma also suffered because of drought and the resulting Dust Bowl. The new post office on East Gray Street was opened for business in February 1933. Two WPA projects, the American Legion building and National Guard armory were begun in 1935 and 1936. The Norman High School football team, state champions of 1935, went to California to see the Rose Bowl – a gift from Norman citizens. In June 1940, a new court house, made possible by a WPA grant and a bond issue, was dedicated and in August the old court house was razed. Also in August, OU's President Bizzell announced a gift from the Max Westheimer family to purchase land for an airfield. By 1940, Norman was a city of 11,429 people. , On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the next day, the U.S. declared war against Japan and against Germany on December 11. In the following months, Norman and its citizens would experience the most significant changes since statehood as it joined the war effort of World War II. , – Essay by Robert Goins