On June 26, 2014, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum will be unveiling a new exhibit entitled "Hotel Calmez: Clinton's Beacon on Route 66" detailing the history of Clinton's iconic hotel. The exhibit will be on display through December 2014.

The 1920s witnessed great progress for Clinton. The town grew into the Hub City of western Oklahoma, and local businessman Claude M. Calmes chose to construct a grand hotel. Inspired by a hotel operating in Galveston, Texas, Calmes built the Hotel Calmez in downtown Clinton bringing comfort without extravagance to the booming community. The Calmez opened with great fanfare and celebration in 1929 only weeks after the crash of Wall Street and birth of the Great Depression. From its inception, the Calmez acted as a gathering place for travelers and tourists on Route 66, as well as the residents of Custer County. The hotel thrived during the first half of the 20th century, but the prosperity did not last. By the late 1990s, unforeseen circumstance ultimately doomed the building. To learn the complete history of the Hotel Calmez, please visit the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum this summer and fall.

The unveiling of the exhibit will take place on June 26, 2014, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Along with the display the Calmes family will be joining the festivities. Come in for some fun, food, drinks and music celebrating part of Clinton's history.

This special exhibit can be viewed at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays through the month of August. Beginning in September, the museum will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For additional information, please contact Pat Smith at 580-323-7866 or email rt66mus@okhistory.org.

The Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce four new National Register of Historic Places listings. The National Register of Historic Places is our nation's official list of properties significant in our past.

Breadtown, located in Adair County (address restricted) is associated with the Cherokee Trail of Tears and its immediate aftermath. The site is linked to the arrival and resettlement of the Cherokees in today's Oklahoma at the end of their Trail of Tears. The site is linked with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of Oklahoma's history as it  relates to ethnic heritage, specifically American Indian heritage.

The Griffin House, at 1402 W. Kansas Ave., is located in northwest Chickasha. Designed in the Queen Anne style and constructed in 1907, the property features the main house and a carriage house on the rear portion of the property. The three-story house exhibits many common elements of the Queen Anne style, including multilight windows, elaborate wrap-around porch and porte cochere. 

The Hamilton Cross House, located at 1509 W. Ninth in Stillwater, is an excellent example of the Colonial Revival style. Identifying features of Colonial Revival seen on the house include an accentuated front door, symmetrical façade and double hung windows. The Hamilton Cross House is the only example of the Colonial Revival style in this area of Stillwater. 

The McGregor House, located in Tulsa, is significant in the area of architecture. The house is important as an intact example of architect Bruce Goff's early residential designs during his formative years in Tulsa. Designed when Goff was a teenager, the Tulsa residences reflect a synthesis of styles that Goff explored in his early years. The McGregor House is an excellent example of a Prairie Style home, distinguished by its tiered roof with wide box eaves, second-floor penthouse, full-width front porch and prairie style fenestration including six varying styles of windows. 

Listing in the National Register is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The SHPO identifies, evaluates and nominates properties for this special designation.

The Oklahoma History Center announced today that it will offer free outreach programs to schools across the state during the 2014-15 school year thanks in part to a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council.

Over the last nine months, Oklahoma History Center educators traveled across Oklahoma from Keyes in the Panhandle to Hugo in southeastern Oklahoma, offering free living history programs for students of all ages. As of May 1, the museum staff worked with more than 25,000 students in more than 100 schools. Museum staff is excited to continue this effort thanks to a partnership with the Oklahoma Humanities Council.

"It is through partnerships like this that the History Center provides support for schoolteachers and helps supplement their efforts in the classroom," said Director of Education Jason Harris. "We want to bring the textbook to life for students and show them that our past is worth investigating and not as boring as memorizing dates and events. It is essential for developing active and informed citizens."

Through this Oklahoma Humanities Council grant the Oklahoma History Center again will offer free outreach programs to schools across the state during the 2014-15 school year. These living history programs can be geared to learners of all ages and allow students the chance to ask questions.