Guthrie, Oklahoma – Part Four
2012.12.21
Frank H. Greer of Winfield, Kansas, established the Daily Oklahoma State Capital newspaper and had several issues printed before he even entered Oklahoma Territory in 1889. He first set up in a tent on his claim in Guthrie, but in time the State Capital Publishing Company became the largest printing house west of the Mississippi. Greer was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1892. When his company became the official printer of the territorial government in 1895, he purchased the first linotype machine in the territory. Following the tent, a wood-frame building, and a brick building which burned, this larger brick building was built in 1902. It became a printing museum in the 1970’s, but closed indefinitely in the fall of 2012, citing a lack of funds (~$150,000) to replace a broken boiler for heat.
In 1890, Oklahoma Territory had passed legislation for three public colleges: the Territorial University (University of Oklahoma) in Norman, the Territorial Normal School (University of Central Oklahoma) in Edmond, and the Oklahoma Territorial Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma State University) in Stillwater. While the three institutions slowly began to operate, William A. Buxton convinced his brother and the Guthrie Board of Trade to finance a school in Guthrie, named the Oklahoma University. It advertised in 1892 as offering kindergarten, primary, intermediate, high school, liberal arts and sciences, business courses, music, normal school (for prospective teachers), law, pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine. Despite all these claims, historical evidence suggests the students at Oklahoma University were only at high school level or below. Furthermore, it probably only operated for one semester. Afterwards a combination of Guthrie Public School classes, a business college, and other small educational ventures occupied the building for a short time. In 1895, the Territorial Legislature used it for sessions, and then the county purchased it for a courthouse. In 1907, the structure was razed to build the current Logan County Courthouse.
When Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory merged to become the State of Oklahoma in 1907, Guthrie had been designated to remain the capital. But in the years following the first land run, Oklahoma City had grown to 64,000 people, with a railway hub, meat packing plants, and other industry. Even as early as 1890, some members of the territorial legislature were pushing to move the capital.
First State Governer Charles N. Haskell supported moving the capital to Oklahoma City. This was due in part to Frank Greer’s scathing criticism of Haskell in his popular newspaper. Greer was also a strong advocate of keeping the capital in Guthrie, proclaiming “I’d rather see grass grow in the streets of Guthrie than have the new territories enter the Union as one state and have the capital be in Oklahoma City”.
Oklahoma’s constitution included what was then a new and progressive political concept: the initiative and referendum, allowing citizens to place legislation on a popular ballot. With Haskell’s support, a special election was held in 1910, and over 70% voted for Oklahoma City.
There are many wild stories of how the state seal was “stolen” from Guthrie in the middle of the night and taken to Oklahoma City, but very little concrete evidence to validate even the most benign accounts.
After the capital moved to Oklahoma City, Guthrie’s growth stalled, and there nearly was grass growing in the streets. The population today is roughly the same as it was in 1889. In 1999, the Guthrie Historic District, covering 400 blocks, was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Guthrie III