Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. I got to spend about 30 minutes at the Oklahoma History Center a couple of weeks ago and found a lot of cool Western history to tell you about!
I’ve been to the Oklahoma History Center several times and love when I get to stop at this museum. My senior prom was actually under the Winnie Mae in the Devon Great Hall! (p.s. That was almost ten years ago…)
On this trip, I walked through the Sam Noble Gallery because I was looking for Land Run and cattle drive history. Let’s go look around!
Sam Noble Gallery
Lew F. Carroll
Lew F. Carroll described his race for land in the Run of 1893 below!
“Making the run on horseback, following as near as I could the section line four miles east of the Indian Meridian, I stopped on Northeast Quarter, Section Fifteen, Township 27, North, Range One East, I.M. The afternoon of the day of the run there were five on this quarter section, all claiming they were first to get on it. That night three of them disappeared, leaving two of us contending for the claim. About two weeks later we agreed to divide the place, I taking the west eighty and he the east.”
Horse-Drawn Buggy
Check out this horse-drawn buggy from the Land Run of 1889! It was manufactured by the Anchor Buggy Company and was pulled by two horses!
101 Ranch
I love reading about the 101 Ranch and their Wild West show. G.W. Miller and sons operated a cattle ranch in the Cherokee Outlet. Their shanty headquarters was located on the Salt Fork River. They had to diversify their holdings after the Panic of 1893 to include more than just beef. The 101 Ranch became a leader in agricultural production and cattle!
Cattle Brands
Cattle branding irons were used to brand or mark livestock to signify ownership. A branding iron is heated over a fire and applied to the livestock to make a permanent mark. Every brand needed to be registered in order to make sure another ranch didn’t try to claim it.
Frank Orner
Frank Orner used much of this cowboy gear in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. He kept his Marlin rifle in the rifle scabbard and wore these batwing chaps to protect his legs during his time as a cowboy in Indian Territory. The chaps are decorated with studs, conches and leather patches to represent the four suits of cards. The beaded belt contained his initials, studs, carvings and fringe. He also had the name of the ranch he worked on added to it. The belt read, “F.C.O. Wichita 10A Ranch Ind. Ter. 1886.”
Oklahoma Cowboy Boots
These boots were in the OKLAHOMA! exhibition! I couldn’t find a label with information about who made them… but I liked these boots so much that I wanted to include them here!
Concluding Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed this quick trip through the Sam Noble Gallery at the Oklahoma History Center! This museum is full of Oklahoma history and Western history – so I love stopping by when I get the chance. I hope you’ll make plans to visit them soon!
Happy traveling! I’ll talk to ya soon! 🙂
The Active Historian 
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