Ferguson Features
The 1893 Blaine County/Watonga Jail
Concluding this series as part of the National Preservation Month, we highlight the 1893 stacked-wood jail now on the property of the Ferguson Home Museum. This jail served as the Watonga City and Blaine County jails. Pettis Brothers build jails This jail,...
Military Way Post
Continuing the Preservation Month theme for May, an interesting and important structure exists on the Ferguson Museum property. It is mentioned in the Ferguson Home National Park Service National Registry of Historic Places application, namely the military post...
Canned Beef and Home-made Clothing
One of the goals of the Friends of the Fergusons Home is to educate people on the pioneer life that persons in Oklahoma Territory experienced, endured and overcame. Mrs. Ferguson, in her book “They Carried the Torch…”...
Governor Ferguson’s Oklahoma Territory
What were the areas of Oklahoma Territory when T.B. Ferguson was governor of the Territory? As in previous articles, T. B. and Elva Ferguson participated in two land runs: 1889 in Central Oklahoma https://fergusonhomemuseum.org/fergusons-and-the-land-run-of-1889/and...
Fergusons and the 1893 Land Run
The Fergusons also participated in the 1893 Land Run which opened the Cherokee Outlet and Strip to settlement. The Cherokee Strip is actually the 2.5 mile-wide strip across the top of Oklahoma, the result of a surveying error. The 1893 Run was the fourth and largest...
Land Run of 1892
Continuing the theme of Land openings in which the Fergusons had an important part, this article is about the Cheyenne-Arapaho opening of April 1892. Understand that the Fergusons arrived from Kansas to this area in October 1892, but the opening and the arrival...
Fergusons and the Land Run of 1889
We might call April Land Run month as two of the major land runs were in April. Land runs largely shaped Central and western Oklahoma opening land for settlers between 1889 and 1895. The Fergusons participated in the April 1889 run and the September 1893 run in the...
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber is the fourth subject in this Women's History Month series of women who had a major impact on the Ferguson Home Museum. Ferber visited the Ferguson family and crafted a novel "Cimarron" about pioneering Oklahoma featuring the Ferguson's story. The 1931...
Theresa Hunt Tyler
Theresa Hunt Tyler served as Watonga’s first dentist. She has an important connection to the museum. Having desired to be a dentist from a young age, Teresa graduated from 8th grade, taught school as was common in Missouri, saved her money for tuition. She enrolled...
Ellen Shaw: This Old House in Watonga
The Friends of the Ferguson Home will celebrate the 169th birthday of Thompson Benton (T.B.) Ferguson on Tuesday March 17 at 5:15 PM at the Watonga City Hall. Ferguson, a pioneering Republican publicist served as governor of Oklahoma Territory, along with his wife,...
Mother of the year: Elva Ferguson
March is Women’s History Month. As such, I plan to celebrate the lives of four women who played important roles in the life and history of the Ferguson Home Museum. The first will, of course, be Elva Shartel Ferguson, wife and civic leader and honored mother. ...
The Jayhawkers: A tale of the border wars
T.B. Ferguson published a historical novel called “The Jayhawkers: A Tale of the border wars” in 1892. His characterizations of Pro-slavery and abolitionist struggling to bring Kansas into the Union help us understand the roots of the civil war. His characterization of John Brown, at least seven native American Tribes, and African Americans in the underground railroad helped shape Ferguson who later served as governor of the Territory of Oklahoma.
Racism in the Movies “Cimarron”
As we continue to celebrate African-American Heritage month, the Friends of the Ferguson Home invite you to an evening with Professor Roger Hardaway of Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alava. He will present “Buffalo Soldiers”, the IX and X Cavalry made...
Edwin P. McCabe
Edwin P. McCabe died March 12, 1920. At his funeral, only his wife and the undertaker were present. One wonders how such an important figure in Governor Thompson B. Ferguson’s administration, could die in relative obscurity? National Park...
Elva Ferguson on Education and P.E.0.
Women’s education is one of the important contributions of Elva Ferguson. Likewise, the P.E.O. has promoted women’s education and service. The Friends of the Ferguson Home Museum salute the P.E.O. on January 21, National P.E.O. day. This date marks...
The Pencil
Mrs. Ferguson mentions a hardship for the 1892 pioneers of Blaine County. They responded with innovation, a characteristic of Blaine County residents even today. And the solution had a wide-ranging positive effect around the world. This item benefited education,...
Friends of the Ferguson Home in Review 2025
As we begin 2026, the Friends of the Ferguson Home want to thank the citizens of Oklahoma for their visits and support (our new motto is “Ferguson is Oklahoma”). We thank also the city of Watonga, the owner of the museum property, for their support of the Ferguson...
The First Watonga Christmas
Mrs. Ferguson continues to describe the first Watonga Christmas in her book “They Carried the Torch…” Is there no Santa Claus “And here let me say that if any skeptically inclined person tells you that there e is no Santa Claus, don’t you believe him because there...
A Blue Christmas on the Oklahoma Frontier
Elva Ferguson We are deep in the Holiday spirit, having celebrated as a town with holiday hot chocolate, games, and lighting of the big round cedar tree. There were trailer rides around the block, or to the singing at the Presbyterian church. The Fergusons helped...
Celebrating Heritage during the Holiday Season
The Holiday season is a great time to celebrate our pioneering heritage. During December, the Friends of the Ferguson want to thank everyone for their support this past week. Plains Collective presentations On Thursday (Dec. 4), the Plains Collective (Cheyenne...
From Statehood to Stewardship: Community, Culture, and the Ferguson Tradition
As part of the Ferguson Good Government Symposium for seniors in high school on Nov. 14, we celebrated Oklahoma Statehood Day (Nov. 16). Statehood was a major goal of the Fergusons as Territorial governor. Mrs. Ferguson writes in Chapter one of her “They...
Governor Ferguson’s 1902 Thanksgiving Proclamtion:
This week’s Ferguson Feature is the Thanksgiving proclamation T.B. Ferguson made in 1902 while he was Territorial Governor. The original is housed in the Library of Congress, “Providence has bestowed upon the citizens of Oklahoma many blessings during the year which...