The Harrah History Center is managed by the Harrah Historical Society in Harrah, Oklahoma. This was a cute little town I visited in central Oklahoma. It’s located about 45 minutes East of Oklahoma City.

Travel Tip: The museum is only open on certain days of the week. Currently, that day is Tuesday from 10-4 p.m., but it’s still a good idea to call ahead and make sure that someone is there. They answered the phone very quickly on the day I visited 🙂

*All photos were taken at the Harrah Historical Society Museum in Harrah, Oklahoma.

Museum History

The Harrah History Center was opened in April 1999. The museum is maintained by the Harrah Historical Society. This is a small, local museum run by a group of volunteers whose mission is preserve the town’s history for the next generation to enjoy and learn from!

Town History

The area was discovered by Louis Navarre in the 1870s – he described it as a paradise. He returned in 1889 to establish a residence. On September 22, 1891, the lands of the Sac and Fox, Iowa, Potawatomi, and Absentee Shawnee were opened. Lots of people flooded into the area. In 1891, E.W. Sweeney purchased a townsite. He owned and operated a ferry business to cross the river. He eventually built the Sweeney Bridge. By 1892, 10 Polish families moved to the area. They settled in the Canadian River Bottom.

May 23, 1895, the Kickapoo Lands were opened. Harrah was located on the South side of the North Canadian River. The Kickapoo land was North of the River. The Potawatomi Lands were South of the River.

The Pennington Post Office was built on March 13, 1894 – this is present-day Harrah. The Post Office changed the name to Sweeney on March 30, 1896. The Post Office name was changed again to Harrah on December 22, 1898. The original Post Office certificate proudly hangs on the wall of the Harrah History Center.

Louis and Julia Navarre sold 32 acres of land to Frank Harrah in April 1898. This was platted as the original townsite of Harrah. A plat is a plan or map of an area of land.

Soon, the railroad built a line through the town. The Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railroad was the specific company who built the line. This meant that Harrah had some of the most advanced transportation at the time! The town of Harrah is still located in central Oklahoma today. Many of the families in town can trace their roots back to some of the original settlers. The volunteers at the Harrah History Center showed me some of the artifacts that can be traced back to the town’s founding.

Concluding Thoughts

The Harrah Historical Society is a great local museum to go visit if you are looking for a day trip outside of OKC. I was not disappointed and loved getting to chat with the volunteers.

Please make time to go and visit the local history museums in your area!

Happy traveling! I’ll talk to ya soon! 🙂

Travel Tip: I stumbled across a super cool monarch butterfly mural down the street from the history museum! You can stand in front of the butterfly and make it look like you have wings! The mural was huge and made a perfect selfie spot!

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Visit

20881 Main St,

Harrah, OK 73045

Sources

Harrah Historical Society Website