Muskogee Co, OK

Turning Back The Clock

By: C. W. "Dub" West (c) 1985

Muskogee Publishing Company, Box 1331, Muskogee, OK 74402

Snippets # 2

(Pg 6-8) Fern Mountain hosted Creek Agency. The Creek Agency near Fern Mountain was authorized ... in March 30, 1851 ... continued to function until 1876 when the Union Agency was established on Agency Hill in Honor Heights.

... J A Patterson's first store was south of the Court House on the Wealaka Road ... with the west fork headed for Tullahassee, Coweta, Broken Arrow, and Tulsey Town. The east fork became the Hichita Path and crossed the Arkansas at the Hichita Ford by means of Charlie Foster's Ferry, which had been sold to Simon Brown. J A Patterson's store had previously been owned by G W Stidham, an important Creek leader who was later a merchant at old North Fork Town, which later became Eufaula. Patterson's store was constructed of black jack posts driven into the ground and daubed with clay. Patterson moved his store to Muscogee later.

... The homestead of Rev. John Bemo was across the road from the old Patterson store, and his grave was nearby. He was a pioneer Baptist missionary.

East of the courthouse were a number of soldier’s graves, of persons killed in the Civil War. The actual battle between Confederate Creek-Cherokee forces and the Union Creek-Cherokee-Osage forces was fought east of the graves.

Aunt Minerva’s boarding house was south of the soldiers’ graves. ... Clarence W. Turner stopped at that Creek Agency in the fall of 1870 as he traveled by horseback from Fort Smith to Okmulgee. He stayed all night at Aunt Sara’s tavern, which consisted of a number of log cabins, used as a kitchen, a dining room, and bedrooms.

The Creek Agency building was across the road from the Patterson store. The government well was nearby as were 20 red oak posts used as whipping posts by the Creek Indians.

Dr. M.F. and Aunt Mary Williams lived near the government well. Dr. Williams was a pioneer teacher, druggest, and physician. He later had a drug store and practiced medicine in Muscogee and served almost ten years as pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Williams was a daughter of the revered pioneer missionary Samuel A. Worcester, The Parkinson store and the Atkinson store were northwest of the Williams home. Atkinson moved his store to Muscogee and is credited with opening the 1st store in Muscogee. The schoolhouse and blacksmith shop were north of the Atkinson store. A number of Indian graves were near the Arkansas River west of the road to Tullahassee. The Creek courthouse was near the old Tawakoni village. It was the center of the Indian payments and any court action which might occur.

... Other persons identified as living in the area of the Creek Agency were Old Ned Gibson, Charles Foster, Aunt Kate Bemo, Aunt Funga Sofee, Monday Marshall, and Redmen Cornells. The Charles Foster home was referred to as the Gingerbread House. The T.F. Meagher ranch house was in the southeast part of the community. The Indian church pastored by Rev. John Bemo was in this area. [photo of James A Patterson]

(Pg 9 & 10) Idle Workers Riddle Boom Town With Crime, Murder. Crime and outlawry have always gravitated around boom towns, including the infant Muscogee.

The delay caused by the collapse of the Katy bridge across the Verdigris River, and the inability to obtain materials because of the Great Chicago Fire, resulted in a period of idleness on the part of the workmen. .... [they] turned to the ever available gambling tent ... Arguments ensued, and killings became commonplace. Theiving ... increased dramatically. ... Arkansas River Bridge was completed in time for a trial run on Christmas Day 1871, and the holidays further delayed construction ... the pent up feelings, frustrations ... caused "All hell to break loose" as the baby community of Muscogee came into being. ... F C Marvin, locating engineer for the Katy wrote, "The town sprang up over night. In the case of Muscogee, the first morning after I drove my stakes, there were several tents and board shacks up and ready for business. Before breakfast one man was dead, and the murderer was being chased over the prairie by a lot of men. So Muscogee was born in blood."

... George Reynolds, special agent for the Katy in Indian Territory [quoted in Scribner's Magazine]... "Three men were shot about twenty feet for this same car in one night in Muscogee. Oh! This was a little hell, this was. The roughs took possession here in earnest. The keno and monte players was the most uncertain thing to keep you ever saw. One night a man lost all he had a keno, so he went around behind the tent and tried to shoot the keno dealer in the back; he missed but killed another man. "The keno man just got a board and put it behind himself, and the game went on. On day one of the roughs took offense at something the railroad folks said so he ran our train off the track the next morning. There was no law, no means of getting any. As fast as the railroad moved on, the roughs followed. We tried to scare them away, but they didn't scare worth a cent. It was next to impossible for a stranger to walk through one of these canvas towns without getting shot at. The graveyards were sometimes better populated than the towns next to them."

... V V Materson in The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier ... "As a frontier town, as a terminus town, Muscogee was unique. Other terminuses quickly settled down to become quite, respectable communities or faded away altogether. Muscogee alone remained rip-roaring and lawless for twenty years or more." ... it was necessary to re-activate Ft Gibson, which had been abandoned a few months before Muscogee came into being. ... Sam Six Killer, one of the area's most respected Indian policemen, was killed on Christmas Eve as he left Patterson Store with Christmas gifts for his children.

(Pg 11 & 12) Early Local Commerce Started With Hotel, Restaurant. ... Col Mitchell operated the Mitchell House, the first hotel ... a tent with a dirt floor and temporary partitions, followed by a long tin shed, still with a dirt floor. ... Mitchell waited tables ... barefooted. ... [Later] a wooden building ... was built by Pat Byrne, the first Mayor of Muscogee after incorporation. ... Muskogee Times Democrat April 12, 1919, "the traveling men always made a special effort to be in Muskogee over the weekend to enjoy the cooking and sociability of the Mitchell House ..." ... after his death .. sold to McQuerry and Farmer. It later burned down.

Robb and Atkinson operated the first merchantile store in Muscogee. Atkinson had been operating a store at the Creek Agency, and Robb operated one at Gibson Station. ... dismantled the store at Gibson Station and moved it to Muscogee .. at Main and Okmulgee, east of the present Federal Building.

[Photo of Store. [caption] This Store, Run by Joshua Ross, was one of the earliest in Muskogee in about 1874. It stood on the Texas Road, now Cherokee Street, at its intersection with Broadway. The owner's name appeared on the front of the store in both English and Sequoyah characters.]

Joshua Ross built the Red Front Store ... in April 1872 ... He was a nephew of Chief John Ross ... married Miss Muskogee Yakee, a relative of Milly Francis, the Creek Pocahontas. ... was the first secretary of the International Indian Fair.

James A Patterson ... moved his stock to Muscogee later in 1872. His store at Main and Broadway, the location of Goodyear, eventually became one of the largest establishments in Indian Territory.

Dr George W Cummings was the first physician and ... was soon joined by Dr Mason Fitch Williams, who came from the Creek Agency.

Clarence Turner listed a number of firsts in the Nov 12, 1921, issue of the Muskogee Times Democrat. ... John Porter operated the first "eating establishment" .. George Zufall was the first blacksmith .. "Old Bill Brown" .. first barber, T Lacy was the first butcher, J J Corhutt was the first cobbler, James Barnes first postmaster, J S Atkinson first express agent, Bill Miller first freight agent, Major Waldron first lawyer. ... Turner did not move to Muscogee until 1882 but became the merchant prince of the area ... his store was located on Main between Broadway and Court.

(Pg 12 & 13) A Bit of Holland. One entering Muscogee in the early 1870s would have been surprised to find a Holland type windmill. It had been erected by Major James A Foreman to power a grist mill for grinding wheat and corn into flour and meal. ... Foreman was a member of the Third Regiment, Union Army during the Civil War .. wounded in the neck while leading a charge on his horse .. at the "skirmish" at Cabin Creek ... Foreman, along with Cols. Dole and Phillips and William P Ross, made speeches at a big celebration March 4, 1865, commemorating the Union victories. ... mustered out of the Army at Ft Gibson and became one of Muskogee's leading citizens. ... disappeared from Muscogee ... only to appear as one of the early townbuilders of Blackwell. [Photo of James A Foreman]

(Pg 14 & 15) Arkansas River Important in Growth of Muskogee. [Article describing the unsuccessful efforts to use the Arkansas River for boat travel]

(Pg 15 & 16) Railroad Determined Town's Destiny. ... Muscogee's destiny was definitely in the hands of the Katy Railroad. It came into being as the result of being selected as a terminus by Katy officials. ... Towns came into being because the railroad established them ... [Photo of Katy Depot in 1870s] ... Other more impressive structures appeared to reach a climax in 1892 with the construction of the Adams House, a combination grandiose hotel and depot. ... it was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1899 [Photo of the Adams Hotel]. ... The Katy was Muscogee's contact with the outside world. ... Everyone knew when the trains were to arrive, and it was a daily pastime to meet the trains. Persons high and low were there - to meet arriving guests - or out of curiosity. ... One of the big events in this regard was the transportation of troops to the Spanish American War. Two companies were recruited from Indian Territory. ... Miss Alice Robertson met all of the trains with coffee and doughnuts, earning the eternal gratitude as well as the postmastership from Teddy Roosevelt. [Rest of article describes groups that came through Muskogee]