Old Ardmore Historic District
Carter County
Ardmore
Old Ardmore Historic District
Ardmore was
founded in 1887 from Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.
It was named by Santa Fe
Railroad agents after Ardmore, Pennsylvania which had been named after Ardmore
By-The-Sea, Ireland.
The post office
was established in October of the same year, but no city government or law
enforcement agency existed.
Non Indians could not vote, own land or operate a
business without a license.
The first
business in Ardmore was Samuel Zuckerman's general merchandise store.
The first
drug store, owned by M. L. Jemison and John Alexander was also the first in the
Chickasaw Nation.
1888 saw the
first church, the first school and the first newspaper. The church and the
school were located in the same building.
The church had a membership of 12, and
is now the First United Methodist Church.
The school, King College, was what was
known as a 'subscription' school. Subscription is known today as tuition.
In 1889 a
private bank was opened by two brothers: L. P and Charles Anderson.
The next year
it received a national charter as First National Bank of Ardmore, I. T. (Indian
Territory)
1890 saw the first session of court. Ardmore was the seat of the 3rd Division of the U.S. District Court for Indian Territory.
In 1895 the majority of the downtown area was destroyed by a fire. As a result, the fire department was established the next year.
There was still no city government but that was remedied in 1898 when Ardmore was incorporated as a charter city, with John Galt as it first mayor.
In 1899, the first public high school was established. It was the first public high school in either Indian Territory or Oklahoma Territory.
Oklahoma became the 46th state to join the union on November 16, 1907.
By the early part of the 20th Century, Ardmore was well established, with the largest population in Indian Territory.
The economic
base was cotton, and was the largest inland cotton market in the United States.
As the prairie soil depleted and cotton was no longer raised, the Healdton Oil
Field was discovered and oil became the economic base for the community.
Oklahoma History/Butch Bridges
17 August 2014