Where a pioneer life comes alive.
Split — media + text
T. B. Ferguson, Elva, and two sons came to Watonga in October 1892, after the Cheyenne and Arapaho land opening, to publish a newspaper.
Grid — text columns
Journalism
Within ten days they published the first issue of The Watonga Republican, still in print today.
Government
Ferguson served as governor of the Territory of Oklahoma from 1901 to 1906.
Literary history
Edna Ferber visited Mrs. Ferguson in the late 1920s; the visit became the basis for Cimarron.
Panel — long-form
Mother’s Self Culture Club purchases the home
Following Mrs. Ferguson’s death in 1947 the home served a variety of housing purposes. In 1968 the club envisioned preserving the property as a historic site.
Renovations
Renovations were completed in 1972, and the Ferguson Home Museum opened in October of that year.
Section — prose
Mrs. Ferguson mentions a hardship for the 1892 pioneers of Blaine County. They responded with innovation, and the solution had a wide-ranging effect.
Little could be grown that first year upon sod, and settlers had a hard time providing for their families.
I speak of the lowly erasable pencil.