The first exhibit they had was an old corner drug store and "soda fountain" where people would gather for food and drink. Check out the menu.  |
| A Doctor's Office |
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| Doctor's Office at the Hardy Sanitorium |
The Hardy Sanitarium was owned and operated by Dr. Walter Hardy in the 1920s. It was a three story, fire proof, re-enforced concrete structure, containing 60 beds, three modern operating rooms, the best X-ray and pathological laboratories in the state, and dining room and kitchen on the top of the building. It was considered one of the greatest hospitals in the United States. People came for hundreds of miles for treatment. It was one of the few institutions in the world that has a supply of radium for the reason of its scarcity and high price.
One of their best attributes was their sympathy towards their patients and tenderness in dealing with them. It was more like a home for healing the diseased rather than like hospitals that are often bereft of human sympathy. Scores of people were being healed of cancer and other diseases that have baffled the skill of the medical world for centuries.
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| Frontier Cabin |
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| Interior of the Frontier Cabin |
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| Outside yard |
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| Eaves-Brady Log Cabin |
This cabin came from the Eaves-Brady Ranch where it was taken apart and rebuilt here in the museum. It was originally built in 1892 by J.J. Eaves who brought his family in ox-drawn covered wagon from Texas to the Chickasaw Nation, I.T. The original ranch consisted of 65 acres. In 1921 their daughter Mamie and her husband J. Roy Brady, took over the ranch, renaming it Brady Ranch.
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| Cattle Brands |
Have you ever wondered why there are so many cattle brands? Or, did you even know there were so many? Each family that owned cattle had their own special design to know which cattle belonged to them and to keep thieves from stealing their animals. A lot of these brands stand for the name of the family or the name of their farm or ranch.
I know this picture looks blurry, but that is actually the way it looks. It is photography on glass which was done by Charles M. Russell from 1864 to 1926.
Did you know that Oklahoma is considered the "sooner" state? The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into unassigned lands in what was once Indian Territory. The Land Rush began on high noon on April 22, 1889, with 2 million acres open to claim. Close to 50,000 people, known collectively as "Eighty-Niners" participated in the Land Run.
Two names that are associated with the Land Run and Oklahoma history and culture are Boomers and Sooners. Most people believe that Boomers were the settlers who waited for the "Boom" of gunfire at high noon on April 22, 1889, before they made their land claim. However, the Boomers were the ones who campaigned for the opening of the land in Indian Territory to be settled, as they believed that the lands were public property and open to anyone to claim, and not just Native American tribes. In fact, many Boomers entered the land before 1889 and were removed by the U.S. Army.
Sooners, on the other hand, was the name given to people who entered the unoccupied land right before the start of the Land Run, and laid claim to the most choice homesteads. This led to hundreds of legal contests.
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| Maytag Electric Wringer Washer, 1930 |
I recall visiting my grandmother and in her basement was a wringer washer. Lots of hard work just for laundry.
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| Ardmore Ice, Light & Power |
Before electric refrigerators, people had large blocks of ice delivered to their homes to keep their food cool. The ice was put in the "ice box" and came in 25, 50, 75 and 100 pound blocks. The yellow Electric Ice sign would be put in the window of the home, so that the ice man would know what size block to deliver. If "25" was on the top of the sign, that meant that a person needed a 25 pound block of ice for the week.
The Ardmore Ice, Light and Power Company was incorporated in 1904. The company produced ice, but also had an electric generating plant in Ardmore. Ice was delivered by horse and buggy.
The fire started at 1:00am on April 19, 1895 in Harper's Livery Stable. The night was windy and it did not take long before the fire spread in three directions. The fire spread throughout much of downtown and was finally contained to one block. It eventually burned itself out.
As Ardmore recovered from the fire and grew into a bustling community, the discovery of the Healdton Oil Fields in 1913 created a booming business for the citizens of Ardmore. A number of oil refineries had opened up in the area that shipped tank cars filled with petroleum products by rail.
Casinghead gasoline was important to Oklahoma's early petroleum industry. Placing gas under high pressure converts the gasoline in it to a liquid state, but as it is so volatile, it must be kept at 50 degrees F. or it will expand and change back to a gaseous state.
A tank of casinghead gasoline arrived in Ardmore on September 26, 1915, and was parked in the Santa Fe railroad yard waiting its move to the refining company. On September 27, the temperature rose above 90 degrees F. The gasoline in the tank began to expand, filling the container and forcing open the safety valve, designed to release gas pressure. Gas began to pour out into the low-lying areas of Ardmore. It was investigated and reported to the Santa Fe Freight Depot. Early that afternoon the Ardmore Refining Company sent a representative who removed the dome from the top of the car to relieve the pressure, filling the air with gas and vapors. He realized the danger and he and others began to run. An explosion ignited by an unidentified source destroyed most of downtown Ardmore. The explosion killed 43 people and injured 450.
Following the explosion, refineries, railroads and sellers agreed to discontinue the use of casinghead entirely. Within a year, the ICC set new regulations governing the shipment of the volatile gas. By 1921, the Natural Gasoline Manufacturers Association forced oil companies to change and improve the extraction and transport methods for natural gas.
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| Horse Reel Cart |
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| 1895 Fire Hydrant |
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| Ardmore's First Fire Engine |
Before the Great Fire, the Community Leaders asked the citizens of Ardmore to set up a volunteer fire department and buy some fire fighting equipment, but the citizens refused to cooperate, pointing out that they had never had a bad fire. However, after the Great Fire of 1895, they organized a volunteer fire-fighting force, and purchased this horse-drawn, steam powered pumper fire engine. Coal was burned in this engine to make the steam to operate the pump. The only water was water wells in the middle of Main Street. The water wells did not provide enough water, so rain water storing cisterns were dug on street corners in the downtown area.
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| One Room Schoolhouse |
A one room schoolhouse is where students in all grades learned together from the same teacher. Can you imagine sharing a classroom with children of all ages? How much can one person learn with only one teacher for all those students?
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| Blacksmith Shop |
In pioneer times, each town had at least one blacksmith to make all the tools and horseshoes for everyone. The blacksmith would heat pieces of iron over a fire until they were soft enough to be hammered into different shapes. The term "blacksmith" refers to the color of the metal he worked with.
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| Newspaper Press |
In 1837, Samuel Worchester, a missionary to the Cherokee Nation, arrived in Indian Territory with the first printing press. The first newspaper to be published in Indian Territory was The Cherokee Advocate, published in Tahlequah from 1844 to 1906.
The first bulletproof vests were commissioned to be created in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century. During the English Civil War (1642-1651), Oliver Cromwell's Ironside calvary were equipped with musket-proof cuirasses, which consisted of two-layers of metal plate that covered the torso. The first commercial sold bulletproof armor was produced in Dublin, Ireland in the late 1840s. In the early 20th century, the United States began developing its own armor for law enforcement to use. In fact, it was the development of bulletproof vests in the U.S. that helped to change the types of guns that law enforcement used. In the 1920s and 1930s, criminals began to wear less expensive vests made of thick layers of cloth padding. These vests could resist hand gun rounds, such as the .32 S&W, the .380 ACP, and the .38 Special. To prevail over these vests, law enforcement officers began using more powerful firearms, such as the .38 Super and the later .357 Magnum.
The horse and buggy of the late 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries was the primary mode of short-distance transportation, especially between 1815 and 1915. Buggies required at least crudely graded main roadways, where horses could go almost anywhere.
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| 1970s Electric Car |
The first electric car appeared in the 1880s. This electric car by Sebring Vanguard, Inc. called the CitiCar, gets all of its go from batteries. They sold 1,800 of them in 1975. The CitiCar would take you around town and it would carry home enough groceries for a week. Tests were conducted in the mid-1970s and predictions made if the tests of new lithium batteries were successful there could be 25 million electric cars in America by the year 2000. The test results predicted that a 506-pound lithium water battery should run a one ton car up to 250 miles. However, there was just one little problem ~~ the lack of availability of the lightest of all metals known to man. Batteries for 25 million cars would require 467,500 tons of lithium and production of the metal from U.S. deposits through the rest of the century is expected to be about 440,000 tons.
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| RCA Television Camera |
Television began in 1939 as a minute long novelty, with only a few thousand TV sets in the U.S. NBC regularly launched TV services with a telecast of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's arrival and address at the New York World Fair.
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| Shoe Skates |
Shoe skates were developed around the turn of the century, and earns its name because it is designed to attach permanently to a "skating boot." In the early 20th century only professional skaters used shoe skates, as they were believed to be unhealthy or unsanitary. It was not until the 1950s that these types of skates became popular among the general public.
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| Adjustable-Length roller skates |
Two-piece, adjustable length roller skates were developed in the late 1890s, and remained popular until the 1960s. These skates allowed a single pair of skates to fit people with various shoe sizes, and attached to ones shoes or boots with a leather strap. These skates are very early, and feather an all-metal wheel and all-metal base. I had a pair of skates like these ~~ used to skate up and down the sidewalks on Hill Street, Maple Heights, Ohio as the sidewalks were made of slate and were wonderful to skate on.
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| Lots of outboard motors |
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| Shoeshine Stand |
Sylvester Johnson began shining shoes in 1937, at age 11, for five cents a pair. He shined shoes on Main Street, at the Mountain View Mall, and at Walmart in Ardmore. This shoeshine stand was built in 1985 and used until 2009.
This trunk was purchased by Charley Lee Rudd in October 1895 as a wedding gift for his bride, Mary Metts Rudd. Mary used it for her special treasures and clothing as long as she lived. The top was broken about 1914, when their daughter jumped on it to answer the wall phone.
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| Pony Ride |
It doesn't take kids for rides anymore, but this fun horse used to sit outside Luke's IGA Store in Ardmore. It helped entertain children for almost 40 years.
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| Dog Tag Machine, circa 1941 |
Now we head into the farm equipment room, which has displays of early farm machinery.
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| Corn Binder |
Often called a row binder, this machine cuts one row of corn at a time and then ties the stocks in a bundle. Bundles are then placed in a shock and left in the field to dry, or are hauled to the farmstead to be shelled into feed or sileage.
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| 1865 Joliet 8-Horsepower Corn Sheller |
Horse-powered sweeps were used to operate corn shellers and grain threshers before steam engines, which were followed by gasoline and/or kerosene fueled tractors. This sweep was used with the above corn binder.
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| 1865 Joliet Corn Sheller |
This corn sheller was manufactured in Joliet, Illinois and brought to Oklahoma around 1894.
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| Seed Potato Cutter |
Used to cut potatoes into uniform pieces in order to be replanted. Each eye on a potato will produce a plant.
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| Seed and Grain Cleaner |
Developed in the 1880s, seed cleaners were used to remove nuisance seeds from corn, wheat, barley and oats, so that seeds may be reused the next season.
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| Fanning Mill |
Fanning Mills were used to remove straw and chafe from threshed wheat and other grains.
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| Cotton Gin |
Cotton gins were used to remove seed from cotton fibers.
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| Pecan Grinder |
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| 1923 Fordson Model F |
The Fordson Tractor was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company and was the first tractor to ever be mass produced. After Henry Ford has success with his Model T automobile, he decided to move into the manufacture of tractors as well. This particular model tractor features modified wheels that helped with traction in softer soils.
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| Hoe Drill |
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| Round Hay Baler |
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| Case Thresher |
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| John Deere Hay Press |
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| Silage Blower |
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| Wiggle-Tail Cultivator |
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| Spudder Rig |
This spudder rig is a portable drilling rig used to drill shallow oil wells. It has no derrick, just a mast moves were made with teams of mules. Attached to the cable, suspended in the hole was a bit weighing as much as 2,000 pounds, as the cable rose and fell so did the bit. This motion allowed the bit to pound and chisel its way into the earth. Bits of rock and earth were mixed with water and removed from the hole by a bailer. The bailer was lowered into the hole and filled from the bottom and then pulled and dumped. There were two men on each 12-hour shift. Called a tour, the driller was called a rope-choker or jarhead. The driller's helper was known as a toolie. This rig drilled from 1900 to 1935. A total of 8,840,000,000 barrels of crude oil were pumped from this region for 22 years. Oklahoma ranked first in oil production from the mid-continent United States.
Dedicated April 28, 1990, the Military Memorial Museum is housed in one wing of the Museum that once served as a National Guard Armory for Oklahoma's historic, battle-proven 45th Division. Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935-36, the building itself is a monument to that time-period in Oklahoma and the Nation's history. The museum is a result of the foresight and leadership put forth in the mid-to-late 1980s by Brigidier General George M. Donovan and dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly during 1989-90 to renovate the building and prepare the displays. The men and women who serve as guides or "Charge of Quarters," administrators and directors are volunteers.
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| The POW/MIA Table |
There were also a number of military cartoons, some of which were taken from Bill Mauldin's books.
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| The Bofors Gun |
The universal 40mm Bofors gun was used during WWII. The history behind this particular gun ~~ GM2 Frank Hudec served aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer W-36. The Coast Guard was brought under Naval Control at the outbreak of WWII. Due to the extreme shortage of escort vessels, the Treasury class Cutters were pressed into service. During this time the Spencer escorted convoys during the early part of the battle of the Atlantic from 1941 to 1943; the most viscous time of the battle. It made one of the infamous Murmansk Runs, and it supported troops at Normandy June 6, 1944. The Spencer was credited with sinking two U boats during the war. Frank, who was manning the Bofors Gun, was wounded when they sank the second U boat, the U-175, which came up and fought it out on the surface. The mast of the Spencer sits in front of the Intrepid Museum in New York City.
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| Tuskegee Airman of the first all-black fighter squadron |
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| Lieutenant Charles B. Hall, 99th Fighter Squadron |
Chances are you know who broke the sound barrier, but how much do you know about Charles Hall? In 1943, while flying over the coast of Sicily in his P-40 Warhawk, he downed a German Focke-Wulf 190. Charles Hall was part of the Tuskegee Airmen, black combat pilots who did not settle for being as good as other pilots, they wanted to be better. They flew more than 15,000 sorties and destroyed hundreds of German aircraft.
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| Monument to the Armed Forces of the U.S. |
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