Oklahoma Genealogy

Another indication of the growth of Muskogee and of Masonry therein is the fact that two new Masonic lodges have been created, now making three in all. Oriental Lodge No. 430 was chartered February 15, 1912, and now has nearly five hundred members. It is very prosperous and is growing rapidly. Trinity Lodge, the baby lodge, was granted a dispensation December 14, 1921, and was granted a charter at the last meeting of the Grand Lodge held at Guthrie in March, 1922. This lodge gives promise of a rapid and healthy Masonic growth. Muskogee Chapter No. 14, Order Of The … Read more

One of Muskogee’s most important institutions is the Oklahoma Free State Fair, organized in 1916 and chartered by the state February 26, 1917. During the years gone by, Muskogee had held various fairs with more or less success, but all of them had been dependent upon admission fees to meet their expenses, and the gate receipts were not always sufficient to insure the payment of premiums offered, the stockholders being called upon to make up the deficits. When it was proposed to organize a Free State Fair with “the gates wide open” to all visitors, many of the directors of … Read more

Checotah, a flourishing city of 3,000 people, is located on the M. K. & T. Railroad, in the northern part of McIntosh County. It is the first town of importance south of Muskogee and was founded in 1872, soon after the new railroad reached that vicinity. It was named in honor of Samuel Checote, who was serving as chief of the Creek Nation at that time. The name was suggested by the railroad authorities who located the station there, because of the prominence which Chief Checote had just gained in suppressing an insurrection of dissatisfied full-bloods under the leadership of … Read more

During the year 1871 the M., K. & T. Railroad, then called the Missouri Pacific, was built from Parsons, Kansas, to the Arkansas River, three miles north of the present site of Muskogee. Three months’ time was consumed by the construction company in building the bridges over the river, and in the meantime quite a colony was formed on the north side of the river—and such a colony ! The bridge builders, and other employees of the railroad company, excursionists, homeseekers, freighters with their teams of oxen, hucksters, boarding-house keepers, gamblers, liquor peddlers, and an array of loafers and outlaws—all … Read more

For the past forty years Muskogee has been the acknowledged financial center of Eastern Oklahoma. Before any banks were established the pioneer stores, the Patterson Mercantile Co., J. E. Turner, Turner Hardware Co., S. B. Severs, Spaulding Mercantile Co. and the Maddin Hardware Co. served the community as quasi banking institutions, extending financial accommodations to the farmers throughout Eastern Oklahoma. The First National Bank was organized August 1, 1890, it being the first bank in Indian Territory to organize under the National Bank Act of Congress. Robert L. Owen, now United States Senator, was its first president, and C. H. … Read more

Prior to 1898, Muskogee had no municipal government of any kind. The town had just been incorporated and it now became necessary to elect some officials to transact the town’s business. Here is an exact copy of the First Muskogee Election Notice to the Voters of the Incorporated Town of Muskogee Take Notice: That the undersigned agents of the incorporated town of Muskogee, I. T. have appointed theFirst Day of June, 1898, for the election of officers, said election to take place in the building recently occupied by Misses Hannan & Cobb as a millinery store and now moved on … Read more

In 1903, as the work of grading the new Midland Valley Railroad had reached a point about half way between Tulsa and Muskogee, it was observed that on the prairie, just ahead of the , construction camp, was a beautiful site for a town. All of the land belonged to the Creek Indians and something had to be done in order that legal title to town lots might be guaranteed to purchasers. Mr. T. J. Way, one of the pioneers of that section of the country selected an eighty-acre tract belonging to Amos Rolland, a full-blood Creek, and petitioned the … Read more

Muskogee gained early prominence following President Jefferson’s 1805 directive to establish a trading post there, building on existing French fur trader activities. The town became a crucial site for relocated Cherokee and Creek tribes after the 1830 Indian Removal Act, with the Creeks making it their capital in 1836. Post-Civil War, the drive for western expansion saw railroads reach Muskogee and the inaugural federal court within Indian Territory was founded there in 1889. This court’s establishment led to the opening of Indian Territory to white settlers. Significant milestones in Muskogee’s development include its fair, courts, government institutions, and the city’s growth into a financial and industrial hub.

The City of Muskogee has reason to be proud of her Masonic history. Muskogee Lodge No. 28 now referred to as the “Old Lodge” was chartered November 7, 1888. The first officers were: P. J. Byrne, worshipful master James A. Scott, senior warden W. N. Martin, junior warden A. W. Robb, treasurer Frank S. Darby, secretary Frederick B. Severs, senior deacon Clarence W. Turner, junior deacon H. H. Edmondson, tiler. John W. Markham of Webbers Falls Lodge No. 14 was the first moving spirit for the organization of a new lodge at Muskogee, but it devolved upon James A. Scott, … Read more

From the date of its incorporation in 1898 down to the year 1910, Muskogee’s municipal affairs were carried on under the old aldermanic style, with two councilmen chosen from each ward and a mayor elected at large. Party politics controlled the elections and politicians controlled or dictated the selection of city employees, party allegiance rather than efficiency, being, too often the test of eligibility. As the years advanced, the rapid growth of the city called for extensive public improvements and the expenditure of rapidly increasing amounts of public funds, which created a sentiment among the taxpayers in favor of taking … Read more

The Muskogee County Court is one of the largest, if not the largest court of its class, in the United States. Some time ago the Muskogee Daily Phoenix published the following account of the scope of its work: “Measured by the volume of business transacted, Muskogee County Court is the biggest court in the world. Administering upon the estates of approximately twenty-five thousand wards, it takes second place to the New York Probate Court in purely probate business. “The scope of authority of the county courts in Oklahoma is wider than in any other state. Because of this, the Muskogee … Read more