Exploring Oklahomas History - Blog

Panhandle Dinosaurs on Google Maps

Kevin — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:44:51 CDT

A close up of Google Maps shows the Dinosaur Quarry and Dinosaur Tracks near Kenton, Oklahoma.

At the top of the white ridge in the this picture you'll see the shadow of the dinosaur bone statue at the quarry.

In this picture if you look below the geo-tag you can see the dinosaur track fossil. Look for the dots in a line.

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

No Marker Found & Missing Information

Kevin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:42 CDT

No Marker Found

It's not often we have to use the No Marker Found graphic, but it does happen. Some historic markers get lost to the elements, construction, or vandalism. Even though that marker may not exist anymore the history behind is still there. So we make sure we include these missing markers in our Historic Places Database. Who knows that marker may even show back up someday.

Historic Places With Missing Information

Historic places listed in this report do not have any information in either description or directions. Please feel free to use this list to help us fill in missing information.

link: http://blogoklahoma.us/places_na.asp

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Book Club on Hiatus

Kevin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:38:51 CDT

Due to lack of activity, we'll be putting the book club portion of the GoodReads book group on hiatus. We're not going to end the book group completely. Look for new books to be added to the group's bookshelf from time to time. If things pick back up we'll relaunch the book club part of the group.

A very big thank you to everyone who participated.

Remember you can always get to this GoodReads Book Group by using the shortcut http://blogoklahoma.us/goodreads.

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Will Rogers Memorial Panorama

Kevin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:22:49 CST

Will Rogers Memorial in USA

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Alikchi Court Ground Marker?

Kevin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:42:37 CST

I found a marker using Google Maps street view. It's approximately 20 miles west of Broken Bow, Oklahoma on Highway 3. I believe its the Alikchi Court Ground marker, but the text is not readable from Google maps.

Can anyone in the McCurtain County area verify and share a clear picture of it?

View Larger Map

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Jenson Tunnel - Google Earth View

Kevin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:40:24 CST

The Jenson Tunnel is Oklahoma's only railroad tunnel. It was built by the Frisco railway through the Choctaw nation between 1885 and 1887. The tunnel is approximately 1,180 feet long, with an average width of 14 feet and an average height of 20 feet. The tunnel remains in use today.

place: .../place.asp?id=554
map: http://g.co/maps/56d9c
geo: 35.21596, -94.44304

Our map location was a bit off for the Jenson Tunnel, so I corrected it. While exploring the area around the tunnel in Google Maps, I put it in Google Earth mode and was amazed at the 3D quality of the map. Below you'll see some screen captures of both the south and north sides of the Tunnel.

I tried to get the same results with the Google Earth app, but couldn't manage it. The Google Earth plugin at Google Maps just had a nicer 3D view.

If you're ever in La Flore County near the Oklahoma / Arkansas border north of Poteau, you might want to check out the Jenson Tunnel. It is an active railway. I do not advise you enter the tunnel. Just look at the entryways. Please keep your eyes and ears open, and never take any chances when it comes to your safety, especially around trains.

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Kevin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:30:49 CST

The 15th Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday! During February 17-20 we invite you to be part of a massive citizen-science effort across North America. Tens of thousands of fellow bird watchers will be counting birds and submitting their checklists to www.birdcount.org. Just watch birds for at least 15 minutes at any location and tally the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time. Submit a new checklist for each day and each new location where you count.
www.birdcount.org

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Accidental Out-of-State Finds

Kevin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:48:41 CST

Many times when we are looking for Oklahoma historical markers we'll journey across the border into our neighboring states. Sometimes its the most direct way to get to another part of Oklahoma, or we travel down a road until we cross a state line. On some of these excursions we'll find some really interesting historical markers.

While looking for the Doan's Crossing marker in the Jackson/Tillman county area we crossed the border into Texas and found their Doan's Crossing marker. Another time we traveled west out of Hollis in Harmon county to find a historical marker right on the Texas border.

Doan's Crossing on Red River (Texas)

Located on Texas Farm Road 924. East of U.S. 283. South of Oklahoma/Texas state line. (place | map)

100th Meridian Oklahoma/Texas State Line

Located 5 miles west of Hollis, Oklahoma, between the Oklahoma and Texas state line signs. South side of road in front of Oklahoma state sign. (place | map)

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Camp Radziminski's Lost Payroll

Kevin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:19:00 CST

Camp Radziminski also has its tale of buried treasure. The tale has drawn hunters armed with evidence that a government payroll of fourty thousand dollars was shipped by wagon to the camp to pay the soldiers for several months' back salary. Some distance from the camp a bad of raiders seized the gold. Van Dorn's marksment lost little time in overtaking the robbers and shot them all. But when their bodies were examined, no gold was found. Local tradition says that somewhere about the environs of Otter Creek near the old military camp the payroll is still hidden.
Oklahoma Treasures and Treasure Tales By Steve Wilson

[-MORE-]

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Charles Radziminski: Patriot, Exile, Pioneer

Kevin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:50:18 CST

Camp Radziminski

A strange turn of events brought the subject of this story, Charles Radziminski, a Polish Revolutionary exile, to a lift of adventure and useful service in his adopted country....
Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 38 (1960) Page 354 (PDF)

[-MORE-]

CHARLES RADZIMINSKI: PATRIOT, EXILE, PIONEER

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Google Currents Edition (QR Code)

Kevin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:44:39 CST

Subscribe to the Exploring Oklahoma History Google Currents Edition.

You can also use the shortcut: blogoklahoma.us/currents

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Register To Vote

Kevin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:24:01 CST

Now that election season has officially begun with the Iowa Caucuses, we need to get the word out here in Oklahoma to register to vote.

We only have until February 10th to get people registered to vote for the Presidential Preferential Primary on March 6th.

Voter registration applications are available at your local county election board, post offices, tag agencies, libraries and many other public locations. You can even get an application online from the Oklahoma State Election Board. But remember you must get your application in before February 10th.

Voting is one of the most important things you can do as a citizen. Don't let people prevent you from voting.

New voter identification laws here in Oklahoma make it very important for you to help your family, friends and neighbors get registered to vote. If they don't have an Oklahoma drivers licence, a state identification card, a passport, or a military ID, they will need a voter identification card issued by the county election board (even though it does not include a photo or an expiration date).

If you've lost your voter identification card, and you don't have any of the other forms of identification, head over to your local county elections board and request a new one.

If you're unsure if you have a valid form of ID, review this checklist: www.ok.gov/elections/documents/valid_id.pdf

If you don't know where your local county elections board is, check this list. www.ok.gov/elections/documents/cebinfo.pdf

Please get the word out. Help your family, friends, and neighbors get registered to vote before February 10th.

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Clinton Route 66 Museum To Begin Renovations

Kevin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:44:50 CST

Image credit jcorbridge on Flickr http://flic.kr/p/24gCA

Clinton Route 66 museum will close for renovations (via @Route66News)

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma will be closing for renovations starting January 1st through at least April 15th. The main exhibit hall will be closed, but the lobby, gift shop, and a special exhibition area will still be available to the public during the renovations. So if you're going to be in the Clinton area during the first quarter of 2012, its still worth a stop to visit the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.

"The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum will be renovating our exhibit galleries, beginning January 1, 2012. Unfortunately, the galleries will have to be shut down to accomplish this feat; however, the gift shop and the lobby area/Wow! room will be open during normal operating hours. There will also be a special exhibit in the Wow! room that will be free to the public for viewing during normal operationg hours as well. The museum has set a tentative re-opening date for April 15, 2011 - we will post the details about our grand RE-opening as they are readily available...."
From museum web site (http://www.route66.org)

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Google Currents Edition (Update)

Kevin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:21:22 CST

The latest edition of Exploring Oklahoma History on Google Currents is up. If you would like to read it, install Google Currents on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, then in your mobile browser type in this shortcut: blogoklahoma.us/currents

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Google Currents Edition

Kevin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:35:06 CST

UPDATE 12/27 2pm: The latest edition of Exploring Oklahoma History on Google Currents is up. You can now use this shorcut instead of that long link below: http://blogoklahoma.us/currents

We've created Google Currents edition for our web site.

Google Currents is an iOS and Android app that will let you read leading publications and blogs you follow in a swipable magazine format.

The edition is a work in progress, and we'll be fine tuning it for the next couple of weeks. However if you would like to go ahead and access it, first you'll need to install the Google Currents app on your iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod) or Android device, and then point your mobile browser to this link: http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAowg5lG/exploring_oklahoma_history

If you would like to learn how to format your site for Google Currents, check out this article: Publishing Your News Content to Google Currents

Please feel free to post your feedback. More to come... (Happy New Year)

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Blog Oklahoma Podcast 87: A Christmas Special

Kevin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:49:34 CST

A special Christmas episode of the Blog Oklahoma Podcast is out.

Click Here To Listen

Enjoy and Merry Christmas from the Blog Oklahoma family!

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Winter Time Blues

Kevin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:51:54 CST

It's that time of the year when things start to slow down to a crawl here on the website. Reason? It's too damn cold to go outside. Ha!

Now just because we don't get the travel around, doesn't mean we'll be completely inactive here at EOH. We're continually editing and adding more Oklahoma historic places, ghost towns, and cemeteries to our database. And we'll continue to be active at Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

So be safe, stay warm, and we'll look forward to visiting a historic place near you in the spring :-)

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Christmas Bird Count

Kevin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:18:53 CST

The 112th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will take place from December 14, 2011 through January 5, 2012. This massive count takes place across the U.S. and Canada and is sponsored Audubon and Bird Studies Canada.

For more information visit http://birds.audubon.org/cbc

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Now On Google+

Kevin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:09:50 CST

Exploring Oklahoma History is now on Google+.

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us

Let's Finish It

Kevin — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:37:46 CDT

www.aiccm.org

Exploring Oklahoma History / BlogOklahoma.us