Central Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)
Visit of the Congressmen
Oklahoma City September 17, 1889
— The '89er Trail —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, October 21, 2019
1. Visit of the Congressmen Marker
Inscription.
Visit of the Congressmen. Oklahoma City September 17, 1889. A visit by influential members of Congress in September 1889 was the most important event in Oklahoma since the Run itself.
On Tuesday, September 17, 1889, six congressmen arrived by rail from Guthrie for a first-hand look at life in the Oklahoma country. Following a tour of the city, they joined a large gathering for barbecue and speeches. Mayor Couch and city councilman Sidney Clarke delivered the welcome. Congressmen Charles Mansur of Missouri, and William Springer of Illinois, author of the legislation that opened Oklahoma country to non-Indian settlement, addressed the crowd.
That evening a gala dinner event at the Bone and McKinnon building showed off the city and its citizens in all their finery. Before leaving the following morning, the dignitaries promised to do what they could to hasten federal legislation to establish territorial governance.
For a brief time the city's feuding factions came together to show their most friendly face. Yet barely four days later, a city charter election aimed at overthrowing the Seminole-controlled city government would be stopped at bayonet-point by Captain Stiles and his soldiers from the Military Reservation, acting at the direction of Mayor Couch and the city council.
Photo captions: Top left: Citizens held a barbecue for the visiting congressmen on September 17, 1889, near what is known today as Stiles Park, at 8th and Walnut. Attendees bowed their heads in prayer before an afternoon of speeches and paeans to hardy pioneers. Research Division of the Oklahoma Historical Society , Top right: The Bone and McKinnon Building at California and Robinson was the venue for an evening gala to welcome the Congressional delegation to Oklahoma City. Today this is the location of the ice rink in the Myriad Gardens. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
A visit by influential members of Congress
in September 1889 was the most important
event in Oklahoma since the Run itself.
On Tuesday, September 17, 1889, six congressmen arrived by rail from
Guthrie for a first-hand look at life in the Oklahoma country. Following
a tour of the city, they joined a large gathering for barbecue and
speeches. Mayor Couch and city councilman Sidney Clarke delivered
the welcome. Congressmen Charles Mansur of Missouri, and William
Springer of Illinois, author of the legislation that opened Oklahoma
country to non-Indian settlement, addressed the crowd.
That evening a gala dinner event at the Bone and McKinnon building
showed off the city and its citizens in all their finery. Before leaving the
following morning, the dignitaries promised to do what they could to
hasten federal legislation to establish territorial governance.
For a brief time the city's feuding factions came together to show their
most friendly face. Yet barely four days later, a city charter election
aimed at overthrowing the Seminole-controlled city government would
be stopped at bayonet-point by Captain Stiles and his soldiers from the
Military Reservation, acting at the direction of Mayor Couch and the
city council.
Photo captions:
Top left: Citizens held a barbecue for the visiting
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congressmen on September 17, 1889, near what is known today as Stiles Park, at 8th and Walnut. Attendees bowed their heads in prayer before an afternoon of speeches and paeans to hardy pioneers.
Research Division of the Oklahoma Historical Society
Top right: The Bone and McKinnon Building at California and Robinson was the venue for an evening gala to welcome the Congressional delegation to Oklahoma City. Today this is the location of the ice rink in the Myriad Gardens. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
Erected 2018 by Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Wiggin Properties. (Marker Number 13.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Government & Politics. In addition, it is included in the The '89er Trail series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1889.
Location. 35° 27.948′ N, 97° 30.993′ W. Marker is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in Oklahoma County. It is in Central Oklahoma City. Marker is on Ron Norick Boulevard south of West Sheridan Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Part of the Myriad Botanical Gardens Trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 Ron Norick Boulevard, Oklahoma City OK 73102, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within
Photographed By Mark Hilton, October 21, 2019
2. Marker near the Devon Ice Rink, in Myriad Botanical Gardens
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 29, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
