Timeline of Oklahoma City

The following is a timeline of the history of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 20th century

• 1887
  • February: A stop along the newly completed Southern Kansas Railway line was constructed and named "Oklahoma Station."
  • December 30: The United States Postal Service established a post office at Oklahoma Station.^[1]
• 1889
  • April 22: Settlement established on Unassigned Lands of the United States.^[2]
  • Oklahoma Times, Weekly Oklahoman, and Oklahoma Gazette newspapers begin publication.^[3]
• 1890
  • Town charted in Oklahoma Territory.^[2]
  • W.J. Gault becomes mayor.
  • Population: 4,151.^[4]
• 1896 – January: Statehood convention held.^[5]

20th century

1900s–1940s

• 1901
  • Epworth University founded.^[4]
  • Douglass High School active (approximate date).
• 1902 – Oklahoma Historical Society headquartered in Oklahoma City.^[6]
• 1905 – Brock Dry Goods in business.^[7]
• 1906 – Oklahoma College for Young Women founded.
• 1907
  • Town becomes part of the new U.S. state of Oklahoma.
  • Population: 32,452.^[4]
  • Elmer L. Fulton becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district.^[8]
• 1908
  • Temple B’nai Israel synagogue built.^[9]
  • Dick Thompson Morgan becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district.^[8]
• 1909 – Colcord Building constructed.
• 1910
  • Oklahoma state capital relocated to Oklahoma City from Guthrie.
  • Cattlemen's Cafe in business.
  • Population: 64,205.^[10]
• 1911
  • Oklahoma City University established.^[11]
  • Skirvin Hotel in business.
• 1913 – Board of Health established.
• 1915 – Joseph Bryan Thompson becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[8]
• 1916
  • Black Dispatch newspaper begins publication.^[2]
  • Blackwood David Business College established.^[11]
• 1917 – Emanuel Synagogue active.^[9]
• 1918 – Cain's Coffee Building constructed.
• 1919
  • Lake Overholser reservoir^[12] and Oklahoma State Capitol built.
  • Aldridge Theater opens (approximate date).^[13]
  • John W. Harreld becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[8]
• 1920
  • WKY radio begins broadcasting.^[14]
  • Population: 91,295.^[10]
• 1921
  • Calvary Baptist Church built.
  • Fletcher B. Swank becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[8]
• 1922
  • Ritz Theater opens.^[13]
  • Lynching of Jake Brooks^[15] Photographs of Jake Brooks's hanged body are sent to Congress, hoping for passage of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. ^[16]
• 1923 – KOCY radio begins broadcasting.^[14]
• 1925 – Oklahoma City Blue Devils jazz band active.^[17]
• 1927 – New Quayle Methodist Episcopal Church built.^[17]
• 1928 – Oil discovered.^[18]
• 1929 – Ulysses S. Stone becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district^[8]
• 1930 – Population: 185,389.^[10]
• 1931
  • Union Station opens.
  • First National Bank Building constructed.
  • Fletcher Swank becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district again.^[8]
• 1934
  • Taft Stadium built.
  • Santa Fe Depot opens.
• 1935 – Joshua B. Lee becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[8]
• 1937
  • Daily Law Journal Record newspaper headquartered in city.^[3]
  • Robert P. Hill becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district, succeeded by Gomer Griffith Smith.^[8]
• 1939 – Mike Monroney becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[8]
• 1940 – Population: 204,424.^[10]
• 1941 – U.S. military Tinker Air Force Base established.
• 1946 – Urban League established.
• 1948 – Milk Bottle Grocery in business.
• 1949 – WKY-TV (television) begins broadcasting.^[19]

1950s–1990s

• 1950
  • Circle Drive-In cinema opens.^[13]
  • Population: 243,504.^[10]
• 1951 – John Jarman becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[20]
• 1953 – KWTV (television) begins broadcasting.^[19]
• 1954 – Griffin Television Tower erected.
• 1955 – Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum established.
• 1958 – Oklahoma City sit-ins led by Clara Luper for racial desegregation begin.^[21]
• 1960
  • Penn Square Mall in business.
  • Population: 324,253.^[10]
• 1962 – Oklahoma City 89ers baseball team formed.
• 1964
  • July: Oklahoma City sonic boom tests begin.
  • Founders Tower built.
• 1965
  • Central Business District redevelopment plan ("Pei plan") adopted.^[12]
  • Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City established.^[22]
• 1966
  • Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority established.
  • Citizens Bank Tower built.
• 1968 – Harn Homestead and 1889ers Museum founded.^[23]
• 1969
  • August 19: Sanitation labor strike begins.^[24]
  • Oklahoma City Community Foundation established.^[22]
• 1970
  • Oklahoma Theater Center built.^{[citation needed]}
  • Population: 366,481.^[10]
• 1971
  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center active.
  • Patience Latting becomes mayor.
  • Chase Tower built.
• 1972
  • Premiere of Western film J. W. Coop.^[25]
  • Myriad Convention Center opens.
  • Henry Overholser historic site established.^[23]
• 1974 – Underground pedestrian concourse built.
• 1976 – 45th Infantry Division Museum established.^[23]
• 1977
  • Murrah Federal Building constructed.
  • Mickey Edwards becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[26]
• 1979 – Black Chronicle newspaper begins publication.^[3]
• 1980
  • Oklahoma City Food Bank organized.
  • Population: 403,213.^[10]
• 1983 – Andy Coats becomes mayor.
• 1984 – Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation established.
• 1987
  • Grusendorf v. City of Oklahoma City smoking-related lawsuit decided.^[27]
  • Ron Norick becomes mayor.
• 1988
  • Oklahoma City Pride begins.^{[citation needed]}
  • Myriad Botanical Gardens Tropical Conservatory opens.
• 1990 – Population: 444,719.^[10]
• 1993 – Ernest Istook becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[26]
• 1994 – Grateful Bean Cafe opens.^[28]
• 1995
  • April 19: Oklahoma City bombing.^[29]
  • City website online.^[30]
• 1999 – Kirk Humphreys becomes mayor.
• 2000 – Population: 506,132.^[31]

21st century

• 2001 – Oklahoma City National Memorial opens.
• 2002
  • Ford Center stadium opens.
  • Oklahoma City Lightning women's football team formed.
• 2003 – Guy Liebmann becomes mayor.
• 2004 – Mick Cornett becomes mayor.
• 2005 – Will Rogers World Airport's new terminal opens.
• 2006 – Douglass Mid-High School built.
• 2007 – Mary Fallin becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[26]
• 2008 – Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team active.
• 2010
  • Oklahoma City Barons ice hockey team active.
  • Population: 579,999.^[32]
• 2011 – James Lankford becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[33]
• 2012 – Devon Tower built.
• 2014 – Municipal Archives established.^[34]
• 2015 – Steve Russell becomes U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressional district.^[26]

See also

• History of Oklahoma City
• List of mayors of Oklahoma City
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
• Timelines of other cities in Oklahoma: Norman, Tulsa

References

1. "Oklahoma City | the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".
2. Federal Writers' Project 1941.
3. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
4. Britannica 1910.
5. Oklahoma (1912). "Chronological History of Oklahoma". Oklahoma Red Book. Oklahoma City.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
6. "Oklahoma". Handbook of Learned Societies and Institutions: America. Carnegie Institution of Washington. 1908. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t5t72q98c.
7. Joseph Bradfield Thoburn (1916). A Standard History of Oklahoma. Vol. 3. Chicago: American Historical Society.
8. S. A. Kirkpatrick; David R. Morgan; Larry G. Edwards (1970). Oklahoma Voting Patterns: Congressional Elections. University of Oklahoma, Bureau of Government Research. OCLC 139157.
9. "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
10. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
11. Patterson's American Educational Directory. Vol. 29. Chicago. 1932. hdl:2027/uc1.b3970358.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
12. Nergal 1980.
13. "Movie Theaters in Oklahoma City, OK". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
14. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Oklahoma", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
15. New York Times, January 25, 1922, p. 10.
16. The Dallas Express, February 4, 1922, p. 1.
17. Daniels 2007.
18. Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 1373, OL 6112221M
19. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Oklahoma", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
20. "Oklahoma". Official Congressional Directory. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1953. hdl:2027/mdp.39015038055821.
21. "Oklahoma City African Americans sit-in for integration, 1958–64". Global Nonviolent Action Database. Pennsylvania: Swarthmore College. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
22. Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei, ed. (9 May 2013). "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
23. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Oklahoma: Oklahoma City". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). Rowman Altamira. p. 667+. ISBN 0759100020.
24. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc (December 1969), "Sanitation Workers Win Strike", The Crisis {{citation}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
25. John Wooley (2012). Shot in Oklahoma: A Century of Sooner State Cinema. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-8407-4.
26. Oklahoma Almanac, State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, OCLC 28048151. 1995–2016
27. M.F. Mikula; et al., eds. (1999), Great American Court Cases, Gale
28. "Oklahoma City". Wiser.org. WiserEarth. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
29. "On This Day", New York Times, retrieved November 1, 2014
30. . Archived from the original on 1996-12-21 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
31. . State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009.
32. . State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
33. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
34. "Oklahoma City receives funding for archives program". City of Oklahoma City. 2014.

Bibliography

• "Five members of Lynching party - three white and two black, caught tried and sentenced to life imprisonment within 5 days". The Dallas Express. Dallas, Texas: W.E. King. February 4, 1922. pp. 1–8. ISSN 2331-334X. OCLC 9839625. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
• "Oklahoma City". Polk's Oklahoma Gazetteer and Business Directory. Chicago: R.L. Polk & Co. 1902.
• "Oklahoma City" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 61.
• W. F. Kerr (1922), The Story of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Chicago: S.J. Clarke + v.2–3
• Angelo C. Scott, The Story of Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City, Okla.: Times-Journal Publishing Co., 1939).
• Negro City Directory, Oklahoma City Negro Chamber of Commerce, 1941
• Federal Writers' Project (1941), "Oklahoma City", Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State, American Guide Series, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press
• Study of the Social and Economic Conditions of the Negro Population of Oklahoma City, New York: National Urban League, 1945
• Roy P. Stewart, Born Grown: An Oklahoma City History (Oklahoma City, Okla.: Fidelity Bank, 1974).
• Pendleton Woods, "Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area," in Cities of Oklahoma, ed. John W. Morris (Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1979).
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Oklahoma City, OK", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, p. 247+, OL 4120668M
• Odie B. Faulk, Laura E. Faulk, and Bob L. Blackburn, Oklahoma City: A Centennial Portrait (Northridge, Calif.: Windsor Publications, 1988).
• Susan Wallace and Tamara J. Hermen, Oklahoma City: A Better Living, A Better Life (Montgomery, Ala.: Community Communications, 1997).
• "Great Plains: Oklahoma: Oklahoma City", USA, Let's Go, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999, OL 24937240M
• "Lynchers Jailed For Life.; Five Sentenced in Oklahoma for Slaying Packing House Worker". New York Times. January 25, 1922. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
• "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma", National Geographic Magazine, Washington DC, vol. 203, 2003
• David J. Wishart, ed. (2004). "Cities and Towns: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7.
• Douglas Henry Daniels (2007). One O'Clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-7137-3.
• Linda D. Wilson (2007). . Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma State University Library Electronic Publishing Center. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25.

External links

 

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• Items related to Oklahoma City, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• Materials related to Oklahoma City, various dates (via US Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division)

35°28′55″N 97°32′06″W / 35.482°N 97.535°W / 35.482; -97.535