

Events for October 1, 2021 - October 30, 2021
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October 2021
“Life at Hunter’s Home: Ghost Stories” online access begins, virtual
The folks at Hunter’s Home have created a fun and safe alternative to the historic home’s annual Ghost Stories event. Participants can hear bewitching tales, uncover mysteries of the antebellum property built in 1845, and see the site after dark through a Facebook version of the popular event. By joining the private Facebook group “Life at Hunter’s Home: Ghost Stories,” viewers can enjoy complete access to special, spooky fall videos and demonstrations whenever they like through the month of October!…
Find out more »Chuck Wagon Gathering **postponed**
The Chisholm Trail Museum and Horizon Hill Chuck Wagon Gathering has been postponed to March 19, 2022. Visitors can drop in and see a variety of working chuck wagons from across the region as they prepare some delicious dishes. Visitors can enjoy music, Dutch oven cooking demonstrations, Straka longhorns, gunfights, medicine man shows, Annie Oakley demonstrations, stagecoaches and more—all for free! Live music from Kyle Dillingham and Peter Markes, Cowboy Jim Garling, and the Flying Fiddler Wayne Cantwell will be…
Find out more »Annual Quilt Show opens
Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum will host its Annual Quilt Show during the entire month of October, featuring heirloom and modern quilts from across the state. Cimarron Valley Quilt Guild and Pawnee Bill Quilt Guild members are instrumental in putting together this yearly event. There is no charge to view the quilt show, which is available to visitors during regular hours of operation. Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and…
Find out more »Sun and Silver: Photography Before Statehood exhibit opens
The Oklahoma History Center exhibit Sun and Silver: Photography Before Statehood reintroduces visitors to well-known professional traveling and studio photographers of the pre-statehood era, and presents lesser-known amateur photographers of the same period. Also included in Sun and Silver is an exploration of the various processes used for developing photographs. Magical images on mirror-like, silver-coated copper surfaces (daguerreotypes), mysterious fragile glass negatives (wet-plate photography), and unique, blue-toned prints (cyanotypes) are just a small sample of what guests will see.
This exhibit is on display in the Cooper and Gladys West Atrium Wing and Gallery during regular museum hours, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors ages 62 and over, $5 for students and free for children ages five and under. Group rates are available upon request. Oklahoma Historical Society members, active-duty military, veterans, and dependents (with ID) are admitted at no charge.
Find out more »Doaksville Candlelight Tours
Experience the history of southeastern Oklahoma at the annual Doaksville Candlelight Tours. Tours will be held Friday, October 1, and Saturday, October 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the last tour departing at 10 p.m. A guide will take visitors on a 45-minute walking tour through the streets of this once prominent town. The theme for this year is “Walk Through Time.” The venues on the tour will cover specific historic events in Doaksville’s history. Doaksville was the ending point…
Find out more »History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip
Step back in time and experience life in the Cherokee Outlet during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid. On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the historic buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village come alive with reenactors who are tending their shops, working their trades, or socializing at the Village Church. Visitors can learn about different skills and trades of the time, or…
Find out more »Doaksville Candlelight Tours
Experience the history of southeastern Oklahoma at the annual Doaksville Candlelight Tours. Tours will be held Friday, October 1, and Saturday, October 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m., with the last tour departing at 10 p.m. A guide will take visitors on a 45-minute walking tour through the streets of this once prominent town. The theme for this year is “Walk Through Time.” The venues on the tour will cover specific historic events in Doaksville’s history. Doaksville was the ending point…
Find out more »History and Haunts at the Overholser
Visit the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion for History and Haunts at the Overholser! These evening tours at the historic home will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief introduction in the carriage house followed by an after-hours tour of the mansion. See the home in its nighttime splendor, learn the history of the home and its former occupants, and discover why some say they are still roaming the halls! The tour will give time for guests to explore the…
Find out more »Thrift Style exhibit closes
The exhibit Thrift Style will close at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center on Wednesday, October 20. The exhibit explores the reuse of feed sacks to make clothing and other household objects and illuminates how the “upcycling” of these bags mutually benefitted twentieth-century consumers and businesses. With forty-one works from patterns to garments, it serves as an example of past ingenuity that can inform today’s efforts towards sustainability.
The exhibition, organized by the Historic Costume and Textile Museum and the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, both at Kansas State University, provides a nostalgic view into American ingenuity, sensibility, and optimism during a particularly challenging time of economic hardship and war—the period of the Great Depression and World War II. The reuse of feed, flour, and sugar sacks was a cost-saving and resource-saving approach employed by homemakers to make new items to meet their families’ needs.
Find out more »Maps and Mapmaking: Historical Maps of Oklahoma exhibit closes
On November 16, the Chisholm Trail Museum (CTM) in Kingfisher opened a special temporary exhibit featuring historical maps from the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS), as well as historical surveying equipment from the museum. Maps and Mapmaking: Historical Maps of Oklahoma was created in partnership with the OHS John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center at the Oklahoma History Center. It is a traveling exhibit curated by CTM Director Jason Harris and OHS Research Director Chad Williams that will be shared with museums, libraries, and other institutions throughout the state. The exhibit will be on display at CTM through October 9.
Find out more »Quilting workshop with Martha Ray
Visit the Sod House Museum southeast of Aline for a quilting workshop on Saturday. The workshop will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. with instructor Martha Ray, and the cost is $5 per person. For more information, please contact Director Renee Trindle at 580-463-2441 or sodhouse@history.ok.gov.
Find out more »Casserole Carrier Basket Making workshop with Linda Lou Alexander
Fort Towson Historic Site is proud to present a Basket Making workshop on October 9, 2021. Instructor Linda Lou Alexander will teach participants the art of basket weaving a casserole carrier basket in this hands-on workshop. Attendees will get to take home a completed basket just the right size to hold an oblong casserole dish! This program will start at 9 a.m. and will end at 4:30 p.m. Since there is no food service at Fort Towson, attendees should plan…
Find out more »Will’s Barter Bash
The Will Rogers Memorial Museum has come up with a clever way to clear out your closets and exchange goods and toys without spending a red cent. Think of the event as a barter-style picnic—the perfect place to trade unwanted, unused, or excess items and find other things that one may need or want. The event takes place beside the sunken gardens with lots of space for each family to set out a blanket full of treasure. Children can trade…
Find out more »Women’s Day at the Museum: “Crinolines and Separating Busks” presentation by Melissa Grice
On Saturday, October 9, the Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School will host a “women’s day” demonstration focused on fashion developments of the 1850s and 1860s. Resident schoolmarm and historical seamstress Melissa Grice will be exploring the topic of crinolines and separating busks, innovations in women's fashion in the early Victorian era that made wearing voluminous elegant dresses more tolerable for women. Her presentation will focus on a time when ladies wore cage crinolines and crinoline petticoats to create…
Find out more »Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Annual Gala
The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will host its annual fundraising gala on Saturday, October 9th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Stride Bank Center located at 301 South Independence Street in Enid. This will be a ticketed event. For more information call the CSRHC at 580-237-1907, or email: csrhcinfo@okhistory.org
Find out more »History and Haunts at the Overholser
Visit the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion for History and Haunts at the Overholser! These evening tours at the historic home will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief introduction in the carriage house followed by an after-hours tour of the mansion. See the home in its nighttime splendor, learn the history of the home and its former occupants, and discover why some say they are still roaming the halls! The tour will give time for guests to explore the…
Find out more »Tom Mix Roundup Days
Dewey keeps the spirit of Tom Mix and the Old West alive with Tom Mix Roundup Days October 15–16. This two-day festival features the best in family fun and historical entertainment. On Friday, October 15, 2021, from 5:30–11 p.m. the Tom Mix Museum will kick the festivities off with the “Mix’n It Up Under the Stars” fundraiser to support the day-to-day management of the Tom Mix Museum. The event will be held at the Timber Oaks Event Center, three miles…
Find out more »“Mix’n it up Under the Stars” Tom Mix Museum fundraiser
On Friday, October 15, 2021, from 5:30–11 p.m., The Tom Mix Museum will open Tom Mix Roundup Days with an evening fundraiser to support the day-to-day management of the Tom Mix Museum. The event will be held at the Timber Oaks Event Center, 1639 US Highway 60 West—3 miles west of downtown Bartlesville. The gates will open to guests at 5:30 p.m. The event will have a live and silent auction, and a chuckwagon barbecue dinner with all the fixings.…
Find out more »History and Haunts at the Overholser
Visit the Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion for History and Haunts at the Overholser! These evening tours at the historic home will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief introduction in the carriage house followed by an after-hours tour of the mansion. See the home in its nighttime splendor, learn the history of the home and its former occupants, and discover why some say they are still roaming the halls! The tour will give time for guests to explore the…
Find out more »Folklife Festival
The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is pleased to invite the public to attend the 2021 Folklife Festival on Saturday, October 16, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event is free, open to the public, and will offer a wide range of entertainment, crafts, exhibitions, and food. The festival will be held predominantly outdoors on the OHC campus located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. This community-wide event will celebrate and recognize what the American Folklife Center at…
Find out more »History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip
Step back in time and experience life in the Cherokee Outlet during History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid. On the first and third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the historic buildings in the Humphrey Heritage Village come alive with reenactors who are tending their shops, working their trades, or socializing at the Village Church. Visitors can learn about different skills and trades of the time, or…
Find out more »International Archaeology Day celebration
October is Archaeology Month in Oklahoma and internationally, and Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center will celebrate International Archaeology Day on Saturday, October 16, 2021, with a lecture, a guided walk, and many other activities. Oklahoma Archaeology Month is sponsored and promoted by the Oklahoma Anthropological Society and the Oklahoma Public Archaeology Network, and includes many more events (some virtual) throughout Oklahoma during the month of October. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center is the only prehistoric American Indian archaeological site in Oklahoma open…
Find out more »Family Day at the Museum
Visit the Will Rogers Memorial Museum on Saturday, October 16, for Family Day at the Museum! During this month’s Family Day, Lea McCormick will be on-site to teach a class on traditional basket weaving from 1–3 p.m. Family Day at the Museum is a free event, but donations are always appreciated. To find out more about the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, please call 918-341-0719 or visit www.willrogers.com.
Find out more »“Let’s Talk About It” Book Discussion Series
Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum in Pawnee has partnered with Oklahoma Humanities (OH) to host OH’s book discussion series called “Let’s Talk About It.” The book club meetings will take place as monthly in-person gatherings at the museum on Blue Hawk Peak, and will feature a different book title each month from July to November. All five of the books in the program have the overarching theme of “Many Trails, Many Tribes: American Indians in Fiction.” The intention of the…
Find out more »Historic Preservation Review Committee Meeting
The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), is pleased to announce the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Review Committee’s (HPRC) meeting schedule. The governor appoints the members of the HPRC to advise the SHPO about nominations to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and other preservation issues. Current HPRC members include Ron Frantz (architect, Oklahoma City); John Hartley (prehistoric archeologist, Norman); Shirley Ballard Nero (historian, Clearview); Jana Phillips (architectural historian, Stillwater); and, Charles Wallis (historical archeologist, Norman). The HPRC’s…
Find out more »Ghost Stories Facebook after dark virtual tour
On Friday, October 22, a special Facebook tour of Hunter's Home after dark will take place as a virtual event, which is part of the "Life at Hunter's Home: Ghost Stories" private Facebook group offered through the month of October. By joining the private Facebook group “Life at Hunter’s Home: Ghost Stories,” viewers can enjoy complete access to special, spooky fall videos and demonstrations. The virtual experience will include access to four ghostly films prerecorded in the home’s interior, two…
Find out more »“Museum After Dark: Village Sounds” featuring Riley Jantzen
On Friday, October 22, from 7 to 9 p.m., Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter Riley Jantzen will perform an intimate, acoustic set in the Village Church at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) in Enid. His performance is part of the monthly evening event series “Museum After Dark: Village Sounds” that will be taking place at the CSRHC’s Humphrey Heritage Village from August through October. There is no additional charge for this concert series beyond the regular cost of admission to the…
Find out more »Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour 2021
Visit Oklahoma City for the Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour on Saturday, October 23, and Sunday, October 24. Tours will be held from noon to 5 pm each day. This self-guided tour allows attendees to visit several private residences and the Henry Overholser Mansion. The tour offers a glimpse of the past beautifully melded with the present, showcasing the neighborhood's historic charm. The Overholser Mansion will be the central hub of activities including food trucks, pop-up shops, and transportation via…
Find out more »Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour 2021
Visit Oklahoma City for the Heritage Hills Historic Homes Tour on Saturday, October 23, and Sunday, October 24. Tours will be held from noon to 5 pm each day. This self-guided tour allows attendees to visit several private residences and the Henry Overholser Mansion. The tour offers a glimpse of the past beautifully melded with the present, showcasing the neighborhood's historic charm. The Overholser Mansion will be the central hub of activities including food trucks, pop-up shops, and transportation via…
Find out more »“We’re Back: He’s Back” Kilgen Organ performance featuring Jelani Eddington
The Oklahoma History Center is pleased to announce the first performance of the year in the Kilgen Organ series entitled "We're Back: He's Back" featuring organist Jelani Eddington. Eddington has been featured at numerous national and regional conventions of the American Theatre Organ Society and has toured extensively. He has also produced and marketed more than thirty theatre organ albums on some of the best-known and most dynamic instruments in the country. This performance will be on October 25 from…
Find out more »Research Center Book Sale
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center will host its book sale Wednesday, October 27, through Saturday, October 30, at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The sale will include books on a variety of topics, featuring many rare and out-of-print titles. Visitors can shop for reproductions…
Find out more »Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors meeting
The Oklahoma Historical Society Board of Directors meetings are held on a Wednesday in January, April, July, and October at 1:30 p.m. Agendas will be available online 24 hours prior to the meeting at www.okhistory.org/board. This meeting will be held at the Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City
Find out more »Research Center Book Sale
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center will host its book sale Wednesday, October 27, through Saturday, October 30, at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The sale will include books on a variety of topics, featuring many rare and out-of-print titles. Visitors can shop for reproductions…
Find out more »Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project presentation by Trait Thompson *postponed*
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have postponed the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project presentation by Trait Thompson on Thursday, October 28. It will be rescheduled for a future date, so look forward to that announcement soon! All registered participants will be contacted today and may keep their reservation for the new date. Please call 405-522-5225 with any questions. Before becoming executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, Thompson was the project manager of the Oklahoma State Capitol Restoration Project. He will…
Find out more »Research Center Book Sale
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center will host its book sale Wednesday, October 27, through Saturday, October 30, at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The sale will include books on a variety of topics, featuring many rare and out-of-print titles. Visitors can shop for reproductions…
Find out more »Ghost Stories Candlelight Tours
Visit the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum for Pawnee Bill Ghost Stories Candlelight Tours on Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30, 2021, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Guides will lead guests through outdoor tours in the park telling spine-tingling, ghostly tales about Oklahoma, the surrounding area, and the Pawnee Bill Ranch. Tours leave every 30 minutes from the museum building, so bundle up for cool weather. Admission is $5 per person, and the event is for ages eight and…
Find out more »Movie Night featuring Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922)
The Will Rogers Memorial Museum will host a Movie Night in the newly renovated Will Rogers Theatre on Friday, October 29, featuring Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922). Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the movie beginning at 7 p.m. This event is free to attend thanks to sponsorship by the Bank of Commerce. Guests can enjoy free popcorn and drinks. Masks are required.
Find out more »Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit opens
The Oklahoma Historical Society, in cooperation with Oklahoma Humanities, is pleased to announce that the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America is coming to Fort Gibson Historic Site October 30–December 11, 2021.
Americans come together at the crossroads. They invest in places and build their futures where their paths cross. Small towns became centers of commerce, trade, local politics, and culture. For some, the crossroads affirmed a new life in a new place. For others, the crossroads meant hard work and hard times.
Find out more »Research Center Book Sale
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick Research Center will host its book sale Wednesday, October 27, through Saturday, October 30, at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. The sale is open from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The sale will include books on a variety of topics, featuring many rare and out-of-print titles. Visitors can shop for reproductions…
Find out more »Family Farm Day
The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid will host Family Farm Day on Saturday, October 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This family activity day celebrates the agricultural heritage of the Cherokee Outlet. Guests will experience hands-on activities, observe farm animals, learn about food preparation, see antique tractors, and more! Family Farm Day celebrates the proud farming heritage that built northwest Oklahoma. For additional information please call 580-237-1907 or visit www.facebook.com/CSRHC.
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