Beale Defeats Overholser For Mayor
Oklahoma City November 27, 1889
— The ‘89er Trail —
With a margin of only 14 votes, Beale claimed a mandate to overturn seven months of Seminole-dominated city rule. Within a month the city was in chaos and city governance was shut down by federal authorities.
Dr. A. J. Beale, the leader of the Kickapoo faction was nominated to replace Mayor Couch after his resignation on November 11. The Seminole faction, knowing how badly they had lost the charter election in late August, were leery of nominating one of their own. Instead, they pressed Henry Overholser, the chairman of the Board of Trade and a businessman aligned with neither faction, to run against Beale. 732 voters turned out for the election on November 27, and Beale won by 14 votes.
Facing a hostile Seminole city council, the new Kickapoo mayor announced his intention to declare two council seats vacant and to call an election for December 30. He also stated his opposition to recognizing the validity of Seminole lot certificates and announced a plan to file a plat of the city at the Land Office that would conflict with the Consensus Survey in use since April 27. A frenzy of lot jumping erupted, and panicked property owners began appealing to federal authorities for help. On December 30, US Marshal Walker in Wichita called off the election and ordered an end to any adverse claims against existing property
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Photo captions:
Middle top left: Dr. A.J. Beale, an outspoken Kickapoo, wasted no time in articulating new city policy on lot claims. Lot jumping became rampant.
Oklahoma Images Collection, Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County
Middle bottom: Henry Overholser, a prominent businessman and Chairman of the Board of Trade, lost the election by 14 votes. Research Division of the Oklahoma Historical Society
Middle top right: After troops from Fort Reno were dispatched to Oklahoma City on Dec 26, US Attorney General William H. H. Miller (shown here) instructed US Marshals
Needles and Walker on Dec 29 to "... keep the peace as heretofore." Courtesy of the Indiana State Library
Right: A month later, another status quo order from US Attorney General Miller confirmed his earlier. instructions to Oklahoma City, this time to apply to all city governments in the Unassigned Lands.
Erected 2018 by Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Wiggin Properties. (Marker Number 16.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics •
Location. 35° 28.118′ N, 97° 31.21′ W. Marker is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in Oklahoma County. It is in Central Oklahoma City. Marker is on Latting Circle south of Park Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Located at City Hall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 256-298 Latting Circle, Oklahoma City OK 73102, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Oklahoma Territory Organic Act (a few steps from this marker); The New Framework of Government (within shouting distance of this marker); Prominent Land Cases (within shouting distance of this marker); The Resignation of Mayor William L. Couch (approx. 0.2 miles away); T.M. Richardson and the Oklahoma Bank (approx. ¼ mile away); Henry Overholser (approx. ¼ mile away); Charles Colcord (approx. ¼ mile away); Visit of the Congressmen (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oklahoma City.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 130 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 31, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
