|
Sod House Museum
Thousands of "soddies" once dotted the prairies of Oklahoma, but only this sod house built in 1894 by Marshal McCully remains. McCully took part in the largest of Oklahoma's land runs when the Cherokee Outlet opened for settlement at noon on September 16, 1893. McCully first lived in a one-room dugout, hollowed out of a ravine bank. He built the two-room sod house in August 1894 using blocks of the thick buffalo grass blanketing Oklahoma's prairies.
McCully hitched his team to an 18-inch sod plow and split the grass into long rows. Using a flat shovel, he chopped the rows into 18-inch lengths. He then laid the sod blocks like bricks to form the walls. To make the roof, McCully split poles from the few trees growing in the area and laid them across the top of the walls for rafters. Twelve inches of sod laid on the rafters completed the roof. Unlike many sod houses, McCully plastered the interior walls with alkali clay.
The McCully family lived in the sod house from 1894 until 1909, when they built a large, two-story frame house. They continued to use the soddy for storage until 1963. On December 31, 1963, exactly sixty years after McCully received patent to the land, the Oklahoma Historical Society acquired the sod home.
Although the soddy remains in its original location a cover structure now protects it from the elements. Visitors can experience the unique experience of walking through the furnished sod house to imagine what life was like for Oklahoma's early settlers.
Sod House Museum
Route 3, Box 28
Aline, OK 73716-9801
580.463.2441
sodhouse@okhistory.org
Director: Renee Mitchell
Hours
Tue - Sat 9am to 5pm
Mondays, Sundays & Holidays Closed
|
HELP SHPO MEET NATIONAL REGISTER GOAL The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Oklahoma Historical Society is working to secure National Register of Historic Places listing for at least five buildings, structures, sites, districts, or objects in each of the state's seventy-seven counties. The National Register is the catalogue of the nation's historic properties, and the special designation contributes to their preservation.
We are very close to meeting our goal and need only twelve more nominations from seven counties as follows:
Cotton County (2 nominations needed)
Dewey County (1 nomination needed)
Grant County (1 nomination needed)
Harmon County (1 nomination needed)
McClain County (2 nominations needed)
Major County (4 nominations needed)
Marshal County (1 nomination needed)
To help us meet this goal, you can complete the SHPO's "Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form" at http://www.okhistory.org/shpo/nrprelim.htm (then select Form Required for Preliminary Opinion) and submit to the SHPO. Or, you may contact Lynda Schwan, National Register Coordinator, at (405)522-4478 or lschwan@okhistory.org with your questions or to request a hard copy of the form.
We appreciate your help to ensure that the heritage of the entire state is represented in Oklahoma's National Register listings. |
A GLOSSARY OF COWBOY TERMS Editor's note: One of the many education trunks that OHS staff members maintain for use by teachers is one on "The Long Drive." The trunks contains an impressive number of artifacts used by cowboys on cattle drives from Texas to Kansas and beyond. In addition, the late Mike Adkins prepared a 77-page teachers' guide to accompany the trunk. One of the sections of the guide is a glossary of 47 cowboy terms. Below are some of those terms.
all hands and the cook: A cattle-range phrase meaning everybody--the whole outfit, including the ornery cook.
Arbuckle: A generic term for coffee, from a trade-name brand common at that time.
balling up: Referred to bunching up by cattle-at a river crossing or entrance to a corral.
bean-master: The cook. (also known as belly cheater, biscuit-shooter, grub spoiler, hasher)
big loop: The loop of a cow-thief's lasso, said to be so big that, when thrown, it landed on other men's cattle. (also wide loop)
drag: The rear part of a driven herd of cattle, usually watched over by junior cowhands or for those who were being punished.
fourflusher: A deceiver, a sham, a bluffer.  full of prunes: Spirited hemp fever: Death by hanging. hoosegow: Used in the West to mean jail, though the original Spanish meant "courthouse". moss back: An old longhorn, skilled at avoiding a rope (so old that moss grows on its back). night-hawk: The night-guard for the horses of a trail-crew. prairie butter: The fat and juices left after cooking meat, which would then be spread on bread. prairie coal: Buffalo chips and later cow chips, used as fuel. (aka surface coal) remuda: The saddle horses of a ranch or a trail-outfit. slick-heeled: Said of a man not wearing spurs. thirty and found: The going rate of pay for the old-timey cowboy...30 dollars a month plus board. wear the bustle wrong: Dry cowland humor for a lady's pregnancy. |
Caring for Your Photos
By Beverly Mosman, Assistant Photo Archivist
When we were kids we loved to take Mom's cardboard picture box down from the top of the closet and look through the pictures. The box was filled with photos, and we would take them out one-by-one. Some had torn corners. Some had scratched surfaces. A few were even bent. Every movement of the box caused the photos to rub against each other.
Now I've learned a few important things about taking care of photos. The main principle to keep in mind is the photo's environment.
|
Mystery Quilt Workshop
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 9:00 AM
Sod House Museum, Aline
The mystery quilt was selected as the beginning quilt and quilters will meet once a month. Martha Ray will bring basic supplies for everyone to see and she will hand out a supply list along with the first pattern to the mystery quilt. This will allow participants time to purchase their fabric. Discussion will be held on where each participant is with their quilt. There will be a $5.00 charge each session to cover the cost of handouts. For more information call 580-463-2441 or e-mail sodhouse@okhistory.org. |
Click on the following link to find a number of games, puzzles and other fun items for kids http://www.okhistory.org/kids/fungames.html. Here in our Kids section of our OHS website, children have fun learning about Oklahoma. Also, for adults who want to see if they are "smarter than a fifth grader" there are two trivia games relating to Oklahoma History.
There is also available lots of fun stuff you can print! You can choose from coloring pages, word finds and crosswords. Just click on the links and print the page. New printable pages are added all the time! All pages are in Adobe PDF format. |
