Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center

At noon on September 16, 1893, 100,000 people raced into the Cherokee Outlet to claim a 160-acre homestead or a town lot. The largest of the Oklahoma land runs, the Cherokee Outlet Land Run opened six million acres to settlement. By nightfall settlers camps dotted the prairie, and buildings were springing up in the newly settled towns.

The Sons and Daughters of the early Cherokee Strip pioneers organized the Museum of the Cherokee Strip during the 1950’s. Now, the Museum of the Cherokee Strip is undergoing a transformation into the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center to expand the original vision of the museum, showcase the many lessons of leadership evident in development of the region, and inspire future generations in ambition, dedication, courage, wisdom, and perseverance. An $8 million fundraising initiative, Claiming Our Past, Inspiring Our Future: The Campaign to Create the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center has been organized to secure $7 million for the capital project and $1 million for an operational endowment.

The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will open in the spring of 2009 and will feature all new exhibits in a new 6,000 square foot exhibit space. Other features of the new Heritage Center will include a Special Exhibits Gallery for traveling and temporary exhibits, a reading and research room, gift shop, plaza, the Phillips University columns, and “The Homesteaders” monument by H. Holden. During construction, the museum will continue to offer the Turkey Creek School program for 4th grade students. Also during construction, Humphrey Heritage Village, named for Bill Humphrey, which features the 1893 Enid Land Office, the Glidewell House, Turkey Creek School, and the Village Church will be open to groups of five or more by appointment only.

Please visit the museum’s outreach space at Oakwood Mall, 4125 W. Owen K. Garriott in Enid, at the east end of the mall next to JC Penney. The space will be used during construction to offer exhibits, programs, and activities to the public. The space is open from 10-5 Tuesday through Friday, and 10-6 on Saturdays. Admission is free. Please call Glen McIntyre at 580-237-1907 for more information.

For more information, visit the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center's website at www.regionalheritagecenter.org.