Guthrie, Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Capital Company Building in Guthrie

Guthrie was established in 1887 as a railroad station called Deer Creek on the Southern Kansas Railway (later acquired by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) running from the Kansas–Oklahoma border to Purcell.[6] The name was later changed to Guthrie, named for jurist John Guthrie of Topeka, Kansas. A post office was established on April 4, 1889.[7]

In 1889, some fifty thousand potential settlers gathered at the edges of the Unassigned Lands in hopes of staking a claim to a plot. At noon on April 22, 1889, cannons resounded at a 2,000,000-acre (810,000 ha; 8,100 km²) section of Indian Territory, launching president Benjamin Harrison's "Hoss Race" or Land Run of 1889. People ran for both farmlands and towns.

During the next six hours, about 10,000 people settled in what became the capital of the new Territory of Oklahoma. Within months, Guthrie was developed as a modern brick and stone "Queen of the Prairie" with municipal water, electricity, a mass transit system, and underground parking garages for horses and carriages.

Guthrie's western heritage includes the fact that, on April 13, 1898, outlaw Richard "Little Dick" West, a former member of the Wild Bunch gang, was in town when approached by legendary lawmen Heck Thomas and Bill Tilghman. He refused to surrender and was killed in the resulting gunfight. He is buried in the Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie near outlaw Bill Doolin.[8]

Hobart Johnstone Whitley, also known as HJ and the 'Father of Hollywood,' was the first president of the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce. Whitley built the first brick block building in the territory for his National Loan & Trust Company. He was asked by the local people to be the first Governor of Oklahoma. Whitley traveled to Washington, D.C. where he persuaded the U.S. Congress to allow Guthrie to be the new capital of the future state of Oklahoma. This was specified in the 1906 Oklahoma Enabling Act, which established certain requirements for the new state constitution.[9] By 1907, when Guthrie became the state capital, it looked like a well-established Eastern city.

Guthrie prospered as the administrative center of the territory, but it was eclipsed in economic influence by Oklahoma City early in the 20th century. Oklahoma City had become a major junction for several railroads and had also attracted a major industry in the form of meat packing. Oklahoma City business leaders began campaigning soon after statehood to make Oklahoma City the new state capital, and in 1910 a special election was held to determine the location of the state capital. 96,488 votes were cast for Oklahoma City; 31,031 for Guthrie; and 8,382 for Shawnee.[10] Governor Charles N. Haskell, who was in Tulsa on the day of the election, ordered his secretary W. B. Anthony to have Oklahoma Secretary of State Bill Cross obtain the state seal and transport it to Oklahoma City, despite having been served a restraining order by Logan County Sheriff John Mahoney blocking the transfer.[11][12][13][14] Anthony obtained written authorization from Cross, retrieved the seal from the Logan County courthouse, and delivered it to Oklahoma City.[11]

After the capital was transferred, Guthrie lost much of its government-related business and numerous residents. It began to dwindle in size and soon lost its status as Oklahoma's second-largest city, initially to Muskogee, then later to Tulsa. A challenge to the new state capital was heard in the Oklahoma Supreme Court; it upheld the election and move in its ruling on February 9, 1911,[15] as did the United States Supreme Court in 1911.[16]

The center district of Guthrie was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1999, in recognition of the city's importance to state history, as well as its rich architecture.

Guthrie lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is a four-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The city is located in the Frontier Country region in the center of the state. It is approximately 32 miles (51 km) north of Oklahoma City.[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 square miles (50 km²), of which 48.4 km² (18.7 m Iti²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) is water. The total area is 2.81 percent water.

Guthrie is in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet (120 m) and oak forests[22] and an ecological region known as the Cross Timbers.[23]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 9,925 people, 3,854 households, and 2,474 families residing in the city. The population density was 531.6 inhabitants per square mile (205.3/km²). There were 4,308 housing units at an average density of 230.7 per square mile (89.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.84% White, 15.77% African American, 2.97% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.94% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.79% of the population.

There were 3,854 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,460, and the median income for a family was $38,732. Males had a median income of $27,948 versus $21,186 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,774. About 9.8% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.

• Byron Berline, bluegrass musician
• John Hazelton Cotteral, United States district and appellate judge
• Bill Doolin, outlaw who founded the Wild Bunch; interred at Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie
• Dennis Thomas Flynn, postmaster and delegate to the territorial convention[6]
• Helen Holmes, journalist, historian, Women's Army Corps officer, mayor of Guthrie
• Jerry Hopper, film and television director; born in Guthrie
• Joshua Key, United States Army soldier who deserted to Canada due to his opposition to the Iraq War
• France Laux, baseball broadcaster for St. Louis Cardinals; born in Guthrie
• Carrie Nation, Prohibition advocate and publisher of The Hatchet[6][35]
• Ted Power, former professional baseball player; born in Guthrie[36]
• Peter Ramondetta, professional skateboarder; raised in Guthrie
• Horace Speed, first District Attorney for Oklahoma Territory; continued to live and practice law in Guthrie until 1913
• Gene Stephenson, former Wichita State University baseball coach
• Phil Stephenson, former MLB player for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres
• W.K. Stratton, author and journalist; born and educated in Guthrie
• Stanley Vestal, author of the American Old West, partly reared in Guthrie
• Hobart Johnstone Whitley, land developer, banker, Rock Island Railroad executive

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Guthrie".

• City of Guthrie official website
• Guthrie Chamber of Commerce
• History of Guthrie
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Guthrie