Muskogee Co, OK

Turning Back The Clock

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

Muskogee Publishing Company, Box 1331, Muskogee, OK 74402

Snippets # 13

(Pgs 92-94) Carnegie Library Served City Well Muskogee residents who have pride in this city's hertiage have been saddened at the neglect and deterioration of the Carnegie Library Building at D Street and East Okmulgee Avenue. It is very commendable that a group under the name Ark of Faith Foundation Inc. is undertaking the enormous task of restoring this historic landmark.

Muskogee's library program was initiated by the Women's History Club when it was organized Dec. 9, 1908, with the object of founding a library" with Mrs. S.B. Trent, Mrs. DeRoss Bailey and Mrs. George Wheatley as the library committee.

Mrs. C.W. Turner provided space for the first library in the Turner Building at Main Street and Broadway. It later was housed on the fourth floor of the Equity Building at Third Street and West Okmulgee Avenue and at 107 N. C St.

According to Mrs. Cora Case Porter, longtime librarian, the City Council, consisting of A.F. McGarr, mayor; George F. Bucher, Grant Foreman, T.L. Huff, P.D. Nelson, F.M. Davis and George Seibod, assumed the responsiblity of the library Jan. 10, 1910.

The first Library Board appointed by the City Council consisted of lrwin Donovan, chairman. Mrs. Bailey, Mrs John Benedict, Sarah Noble, Charles D. Smith and Carroll S. Bucher.

Mrs. I.N. Croom was the first librarian, serving from Dec. 9. 1908, to Feb. 1, 1912.

A letter was sent to the Carnegie Foundation in November 1909, asking that consideration be given for a grant to erect a building to house the growing library.

After some delay, as the result of meeting the requirements of the Foundation, the City Council voted to accept the $55,000 offered by the Carnegie Foundation Oct. 24, 1911, (which was reduced to $45,000) and that the city of Muskogee would set aside an additional $55,000 with which to buy the lot and obtain the furnishings. The property on which the building was built was purchased from Sen. Robert L. Owen for $7,500, with the senator contributing $1,000.

Henry D. Whitfield, associated with the Carnegie Foundation, was employed as the architect with the firm of Nagel and Petersom, local architects, supervising the actual construction. ... The contract was awarded to E.B. Covey with the cost being $47,845.

... opening of the new library on May 1, 1914. ... The library committee at this time was Bucher, chairman; Mrs. Bailey, Farrar L. McClain, J.E. Wyand, W.H. Harrower, Mrs. T.L. Templeton and Mrs. Benedict. Mrs. Mary Radford was the librarian.

The Carnegie Library Building served the citizens of Muskogee until 1972 it when it was deemed to a more modern edifice should take its place. ....

(Pgs 95 & 96) Water Important In Muskogee's Development Muskogee has received widespread acclaim for its abundance of water, but has not always been thus.

Clarence Turner states that "the first waterworks Muscogee had was hauled water for many years from a spring at Emporia and Eighth streets".

Otto Zufall, who came to this area to haul stone and timber for the Katy Railroad bridge, says he was the first "water superintendent." He hauled water from the creek at 50 cents a barrel, receiving 75 cents for drinking water.

As late as May 31, 1902, S.J. Tanner advertised "the best of water delivered". Spring water from Brushy Mountain was popular in days gone by, as has been the case in recent years.

Some of the residents had cisterns, which caught rain falling off roofs of buildings. The Thomas-Foreman Home, built by Judge John P Thomas in 1898, has a good example of such. It has cups attached to an endless chain arrangement and a filter. There also were some windmills in the small community as one is pictured as being on the Thomas property in early days.

The Great Fire of 1899 caused the city fathers to realize that there was a dire need for more fire protection than the Katy Pond and hand-operated pumps could furnish.

... The city's dream of a water system was about to be realized in mid 1903. The City Council bought 200 water meters May 29, 1903, and material for the standpipe and the water lines arrived June 30, 1903. The standpipe was proudly pictured in a brochure put out late in 1903. It remained on Tower Hill as a landmark ... continued to serve the city until late in 1912 when it was replaced by the reservoir on Agency Hill (Honor Heights). The standpipe was sold to the City of Ada June 27, 1917, for $10,000 to be dismantled and moved to that city.

... City Engineer J.A. Donald June 16, 1916, indicated that the Muskogee waterworks "was the best in the United States and could supply 10,000,000 persons." ... [Photo of Stand pipe at the City Waterworks]

(Pgs 97 & 98) Bebbs Make Floral Business A Tradition Robert Bebb came to Muskogee in 1910, purchasing a floral business from AZ. English. He had been grain inspector for the state of Illinois on the Rock Island Railroad.

His grandfather was governor of Ohio. His father was one of the outstanding botanists of the world. Robert continued this interest, amassing one of the best collections not only of eastern Oklahoma plants, but also those of adjoining states, which he willed to the University of Oklahoma. The collection consisted of 30,000 specimens and was named the Robert Bebb Herbarium of the University of Oklahoma.

In the early days of his floral business, he made some of his flowers available each morning to Chief John L. Templeton, who distributed them to the salesladies and secretaries up and down the streets and in buildings. Some of this same attitude has continued in that Bebb Floral Co. makes hundreds of pots of flowers available free of charge to the Park Department each year.

His Sons, Maurice and Forrest, as well as Bob, the son of Maurice, and Martin, the son of Bob, and Marion, the daughter of Forrest and her husband, Jim Norman, have continued to operate Bebb Floral Co. to the present time making it one of the outstanding floral businesses of mid-America.

[The remainder of the article is about the above children] [photo - Robert Bebb]

(Pgs 98 & 99) The Gibsons - Active In Muskogee H.W. Gibson originally from Pennsylvania but who built railroads in the Great Lake area before coming to Indian Territory, chose Muskogee above the other communities he had observed as the place in which to raise his sons, Harry Jr., James and John. He had come to Indian Territory in 1906 to lay a second track for the Katy from Sedalia, Missouri to Houston, Texas. He worked on the project, living in Durant until 1911 when Katy took bankruptcy, canceling the contract. He and Mrs Gibson cast their lot in Muskogee, becoming very involved in civic affairs. [a long list of his activities and positions]

... Mrs. Gibson, the former Elizabeth Dick, was active in civic affairs. ... A Gibson was a member of the board of directors of the Community Chest from its organization until the death of Harry, Jr. April 1, 1974. ... James [list of activities no death date] ... John ... moved to Tulsa in 1935 ... died Dec 1964. [photos of H W Gibson & Mrs. Gibson]

(Pgs 99 & 100) Judge Mills -Outstanding Jurist Clarence M. Mills, one of Oklahoma's outstanding jurist, was born in Muskogee Aug. 23, 1896. His parents were William and Charlotte Hess Mills. His father, an early merchant, attracted the attention of the public by having a carload of shoes shipped to Muscogee in 1899 - quite a feat anytime, but especially in those days.

When Mills was a young boy, the family moved to a farm near Eufaula. As a farm boy, he performed the usual rural chores and hunted and trapped animals, selling his furs and hides to the Funsten Fur Co.

Another pastime was reading, which was to give him notoriety and a reputation of being one of the best-read individuals of his time. As a boy he read the Encyclopaedia Brittainica as many would read a novel. One of the many tributes paid him in his later years was that he was an authority, not only in law, but also in history, theology, philosophy, art, politics and literature. He was a student of French, Latin, Greek, German and Creek.

He had one of the most complete libraries of this area. When Mills and his wife sold their home and moved to an apartment, he sent three truckloads of books to Oklahoma City University. ... [a list of his activities & awards follows] ... He died Aug 21, 1974, after an illness of several months. His body was bequeathed to medical science. He was survived by his wife, Evelyn Bozart Mills; one daughter, Ethelyn Beals; one grand-daughter, Barbara Beals; and five sisters, Willie Harrison, Judge Madeline Matthews, Violet Love, Frances Westphal and Phyllis Young. [Photo - Clarence M Mills]

(Pg 100 & 101) Hatbox Field Widely Acclaimed Muskogee made its mark in aviation history when Cal P. Rodgers landed here Oct. 16, 1911, on the first transcontinental flight. That was before the days of Hatbox Field.

Hatbox Field had its beginning in 1921 when Joe Witt, a former lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and his father-in-law, M.H. Woods of Arizona came to Muskogee to establish an airport. They had come well recommended, and a group of businessmen consisting of R.T. Price, James L. Powell. H.E. Ketcham, T. Miller, R.A. Patterson, E.W. Smartt. Ben Dougherty and George Walker plunked down their hard cash to purchase 160 acres and erect several small hangers.

According to an article in the Phoenix dated May 24, 1930, the field received its name when Charles B. Oldfield, the first commandant at the airport, saw the small hangars, painted back and white, from the air and remarked that they looked like hatboxes and it was christened Hatbox Field. ... in November 1924, all the hangers as well as several planes were destroyed by fire. ... [rebuilt] .. Government officials ... made Hatbox the first U.S. airport in Oklahoma. ... Col. Charles A Lindbergh ... taught to fly by the commandant of the field, Lt Strickland ... Amelia Earhart ... Sep 4, 1928 ... spent the night with Mr and Mrs John A May ... [photo of Hatbox Field]