Press Release
May 8, 2025
Contact: Julia Moser
Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-282-1889
[email protected]
www.okhistory.org/territorialmuseum
Oklahoma Territorial Museum to Celebrate Kate Barnard’s 150th Birthday
GUTHRIE, Okla. — On Saturday, May 24, at 1 p.m., the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library will host a celebration for Kate Barnard’s 150th birthday. Birthday cake and refreshments will be served. The “Cake With Kate” event is free and open to the public.
Kate Barnard was the first woman elected to a statewide office in Oklahoma, and she was elected at a time when women were not allowed to vote. Barnard was a popular social reformer who dedicated herself to political and social reform on behalf of orphans, the mentally ill, the incarcerated and the poor.
Annette Wisk Jacobi, executive director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, will be the guest speaker. She will discuss her work for the commission and Barnard’s influence on her career. Jacobi has dedicated her career to improving the lives of Oklahoma’s children and families. Since December 2017, she has had the privilege of serving as the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) Executive Director. Before her work with OCCY, she spent over 20 years working within public health’s child abuse prevention arena. Before that, she worked for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. After receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and certification from the University of Oklahoma Center on Child Abuse and Neglect’s Interdisciplinary Training Program, she started in this line of work. Before law school, she received her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in family relations/child development from Oklahoma State University.
The Oklahoma Territorial Museum is located at 406 E. Oklahoma Ave. in Guthrie. For more information, please call 405-282-1889.
The Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
###
Editor’s Note: Photos of the Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library are available upon request.
