![]() CHARLES GASHAM JONES “FORGOTTEN” FATHER OF OKLAHOMA CITY During and shortly after the land run days of 1889, throngs of people poured into the new Oklahoma Territory searching for the opportunity of a new beginning and a better life. Although drought, severe winters, crop and bank failures plagued them in the beginning, most of the settlers who had “stuck it out” would realize the opportunity that they had dreamed about. News of the land run had spread across the country and tales of vast acres of fertile farmland for the taking was the talk of the day. A young enterprising farmer, rancher and mill operator in Greenup, Cumberland County, Illinois by the name of Charles G. Jones was intrigued by this opportunity and decided to sell his holdings and move to the new Territory in December of 1889. This was a bold move for a married and established thirty four year old, but this man had no fear of failure. Born only a few miles from the farmstead of Abe Lincoln, at age eight, he was counted on by his family to assist in supporting his mother and seven brothers and sisters due to the death of his father. By the time he was fourteen, he was shipping stock to Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis and would later become recognized as an established young rancher and farmer in the area. Upon moving to the new Territory, he settled in Oklahoma City and built the first flourmill in the Territory. The mill was originally designed to use waterpower that would be provided by the construction of a canal from the Canadian River along an old creek bed that ran through the City. Charles Jones and Henry Overholser invested a lot of time and money into this project. The canal project failed to divert the river water due to the sandy, permeable soil present in the bottom of the canal. The mill was then converted to utilize a modern steam powered roller process and produced products that won first premium at the 1893 World’s Fair (Colombian Exposition) in Chicago. He also won first premium that year for wheat grown in the “Nine Mile Flat” area northeast of Oklahoma City. These awards firmly established the Oklahoma Territory as a great wheat producing area. Ironically, this crop may have never come to fruition if it were not for C. G. “Gristmill” Jones. He persuaded the Rock Island and Santa Fe railroads to provide seed wheat for many of the new settlers in 1892, since there was not enough seed wheat available and most settlers were broke. Some were not as severely affected by the drought and harsh winters as others but most of the new Territory farmers would have perished if this had not been arranged. The flourmill burned down in 1897 leaving Jones broke and deeply in debt. Most would have taken advantage of the bankrupt law but he chose to pay off all of his debts and did so within a few years. During this same period, Mr. Jones was elected to the First Territorial Legislature in 1890 and re-elected as Speaker in 1891 on the Republican ticket. He was instrumental in adopting the laws that would govern the Territory. He also drafted Oklahoma’s first paving law which eventually made Oklahoma City a modern city with miles of paved streets. He was first elected Mayor of Oklahoma City in 1896. After his mill burned in 1897, Charles Jones turned all of his interest to railroads. He had a vision to extend the railroad from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City, create a hub around Oklahoma City and then southwest to Quanah, Texas. Virtually broke, he did not have the money to travel to St. Louis to promote his project. Mr. Jones finally persuaded Henry Overholser to loan him $150 to make the trip. Jones and Overholser had teamed up on many ventures in the past and this was no different. Jones provided the legwork and organizational skills while “Uncle Henry” provided a large part of the financing. He became President of the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad (later known as the Frisco Railroad and present day Burlington Northern) in 1898 and began to realize his dream. Also, he served his third term in the Territorial Legislature in 1898 as chairman of the ways and means committee and railroad committee. His association with the railroad made him a wealthy man. In those days, having the railroad run through your town meant certain prosperity. The town of Glaze was so appreciative to have the railroad through their town that they changed the town’s name to Jones City in his honor in 1898. Along the way he founded and platted many town sites and later sold lots in these sites to stave off his debt he incurred in building the railroad. He founded and platted the town of Mustang in 1901 and started the first bank in the town. Also in 1901, he was elected to his second term as Mayor of Oklahoma City. He had total control of where the railroad would be built but he was not for sale. Stories had been told that while laying the track between Lawton and Snyder, he was offered a large sum of money to lay the track through Mountain Park. He refused and stated that he would make more money from the town site of Snyder and the grade was better. Another story told was that after listening to an early pioneer woman describe the hardships and sacrifices her family had endured in order to help establish the town of Altus, he decided to run the railroad through the town. He was largely responsible for building over 500 miles of railroad within the borders of the state. During this time he continued his love for farming by owning and operating a 700 acre fruit farm near Mustang and an 800 acre farm near the town of Jones City. The farm near Jones City produced two trainloads (twenty eight cars) of oats, corn and watermelons in 1906 and was the largest shipment of agricultural products ever produced in the state at the time. Building the railroad through southwest Oklahoma and his vast farming interests demanded much of Mr. Jones time until 1905 when he chose to champion an unpopular cause-Single Statehood. Prior to statehood, there was a strong belief that the Oklahoma Territory should enter the Union as a state but not to include the Indian Territory. Even though Jones had a limited education, he believed that a proper education was one of the most important things in life. He knew that if the Indian Territory was left out of statehood that there would be no schools and no educational means to teach the white man’s world to the Indians. It was thought that statehood could mean the end of the American Indian and their culture. Even though that would be tragic, Charles Jones felt it would be even more tragic not to include the Indian in plans for statehood and not to provide them with the necessary means for survival. He was somewhat alone in his belief for a single state when he decided to chair the Committee for Single Statehood but as he continued to voice his opinion, his supporters grew and the Twin Territories were admitted to the Union as a single state in 1907. Jones had made many trips to Washington to petition the President for statehood. Governor Haskell honored Mr. Jones for his work toward Single Statehood by asking him to represent Mr. Oklahoma Territory in the mock wedding between Mr. Oklahoma Territory and Miss Indian Territory on Statehood Day. The support Mr. Jones gave to this cause was also costly. Some who opposed Single Statehood never forgot their defeat and probably prevented C. G. Jones from being elected Governor in 1910. The following is an excerpt from an article written about C. G. Jones in 1910. Mr. Jones had just made an address to a little gathering in one of the counties that was unorganized until the coming of statehood, when a little old white haired Cherokee woman approached him and said, “Mr. Jones, I have heard of you, I have read of you, I have followed your work in the struggle to obtain joint statehood, that we might have the benefits of civilization, that we might have public schools, and that the riches of this section should be devoted to giving an education to the children of this Territory who have had no opportunity to learn, have been denied the advantages that the children of the states possess, and who have been growing into manhood in ignorance. You have led the fight that has brought statehood, and it is the happiest time of my life to know that my seven grandchildren can now go to school, for it has been the principal wish of my life to see these little grandchildren have a chance to get an education.” With tears streaming down his cheeks, this strong man said: “Madam, what you have just said to me repays me for all the time, all the money I have spent, for all the sacrifices I have made, and for the personal disappointments I have encountered in this prolonged struggle to get statehood and its attendant blessings for the people and their descendants.” Love for his fellow man was probably the biggest asset in Charles G. Jones’ character. He always had a sympathetic ear for struggling humanity. The humblest man in the state could get a hearing at his office as easily as the greatest. He was a man who got things done. Ninety days prior to the opening of the first State Fair of Oklahoma, Mr. Jones became the first President of the State Fair Association, raised over $100,000 and had all the buildings built and opened on time. He felt that having a place to exhibit the products and resources of the entire state was very important in that first year of statehood. Governor Haskell honored him for his contributions towards establishing a state fair in Oklahoma by having Mr. Jones and his young son Luther “throw the switch” to officially begin the first State Fair of Oklahoma. Jones also served in the State Legislature the first two years after statehood. He was instrumental, from the very beginning, in moving the Capitol from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. As soon as the statewide election was held and affirmed the move, Governor Haskell ordered that the State Seal be brought immediately to the Huckins Hotel in Oklahoma City. No one seems to know how the State Seal got from Guthrie on that Saturday night to Oklahoma City the next day. Some stories center around the following theory. Since the townspeople of Guthrie constantly guarded the Capitol building, it is believed the seal left the building wrapped up in laundry and was transported to Oklahoma City by train or by automobile (one other account is it left by mule). The automobile (a new Cadillac) that carried three State officials to retrieve the State Seal, was provided by the Oklahoma City Trade Club. Jones was largely responsible for implementing and completing the construction of some 2800 schools in the old Indian Territory within two and one half years after statehood. His interest in education had already led him to contribute large sums of money in establishing Epworth University in 1904 (presently Oklahoma City University) while he served as President of the Oklahoma City Trade Club (presently the Chamber of Commerce). He was running for a third term as Mayor of Oklahoma City in 1911 at the time of his death. Mr. Jones’ association with the diversified interests of the Territory and State had been so interwoven with its growth that his public record had been co-existent with the early day record of Oklahoma. C. G. Jones loved Oklahoma and Oklahoma loved C. G. Jones. On the afternoon of his funeral, all state government offices and all Oklahoma City government offices as well as most businesses were closed and over 1,200 people attended the services. The Chancellor of Epworth University conducted the funeral services and he was eulogized by such men as Henry Overholser, John Shartel and Anton Classen. They all agreed that no man had given more to ensure the success of the State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City than the Honorable Charles G. Jones. Information compiled and written by Randall E. McMillin, VP of OKCCHS Board of Directors For more information on donations to our C.G. Jones statue campaign please click here ----CHARLES GASHAM "GRISTMILL" JONES Time Line---- Born: November 3, 1856, Cumberland Co. Illinois Married: Tena Stafford prior 1889 in Illinois (died 1901) Married: Nettie Wheeler 1909 Children: 1 son- Luther Jones, born 1895 Died: March 29, 1911 1890-Built first flourmill in O.T. (Oklahoma City)-Steam power/roller type 1890-Served on First Territorial Legislature-Oklahoma Co. Representative 1891-Elected to second term in Territorial Legislature-Speaker 1893-Chicago World’s Fair-1st Place- Flour and Wheat-grown in Nine Mile Flat, N.E. of Oklahoma City 1896-First Term as Mayor of Oklahoma City 1898-Elected to Territorial Legislature 1898-Glaze, O.T. changed name to Jones City, O.T. in his honor 1898-Became President of the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad 1901-Founded and platted the town of Mustang, O.T. 1901-Elected Mayor of Oklahoma City 1905-Chairman of Single Statehood Committee 1906-Produced largest shipment of agricultural products to date from 800 acre farm near Jones City 1907-Founded and became first President of Oklahoma State Fair Association 1907-Served on First State Legislature 1908-Elected to second term in State Legislature 1910-Instrumental in moving State Capitol from Guthrie to Oklahoma City 1911-Running for Mayor of Oklahoma City at time of death
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Pathmaker Awards to be Presented October 3rd by Oklahoma County/City Historical Society - By Richard Mize
http://m.newsok.com/pathmaker-awards-to-be-presented-oct.-3-by-oklahoma-citycounty-historical-society/article/5564840
Protests, marches, and displays of attention are not an uncommon thing for Oklahoma. Beginning as early as the Boomers, civil unrest has found its way into our fair state. Led by David Payne, these Boomers lined the edges of the Unassigned Lands with demonstrations, encampments, and and protests. Inspired by Boudinot, Payne began his efforts to enter and settle the public domain lands as allowed by existing law. He returned from his job in Washington and returned to Wichita in 1879. On his first attempt to enter Indian Territory, in April 1880, Payne and his party laid out a town they named "Ewing" on the present-day site of Oklahoma City. They were arrested by the Fourth cavalry and returned to Kansas.
Later that same year Oklahoma would see its first coal workers strike. The national Knights of Labor sponsored the first union in Indian Territory when they organized coal miners in 1882. As leader of the coal miners' union in Indian Territory and early Oklahoma, Peter Hanraty stressed negotiation as the means for resolving most labor conflicts, but he recognized that strikes were often necessary. After almost six weeks of fruitless negotiations, Hanraty helped organize a strike. On May 10, 1894, he led a march involving about one thousand people from the Lehigh and Coalgate area to a mine owned by the Williamson Brothers, because work there had continued. Almost fifty women carrying banners were in the lead, followed by nearly one hundred miners with rifles and shotguns. They were followed by the Coalgate Band. Most of the remaining demonstrators, including children, carried clubs. No violence occurred, and the Williamson Brothers agreed to stop work.
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement hit Oklahoma hard. Unfortunately, Oklahoma took part in the grotesque Jim Crow Laws. The Youth Council of the NAACP, led by history teacher Clara Luper, began the lunch counter sit in movement, that would later become a national form of protest. The Youth Council had been to New York City to perform their play, Brother President, for the national NAACP. There the children had their first taste of what integration and desegregation was like. Upon returning to OKC, the children came to their sponsor, Luper, to formulate a plan following Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's plan for non-violent protest. The youth council decided on five locations to begin their protests: Katz Drugstore, Veazey’s Drugstore, S.H. Kress, John A. Browns, and Greens. Clara Luper described John A. Brown’s as the Bunker Hill of the sit-in movement. The sit-ins here went on every day for five years. Finally, the movement was becoming an organized community effort, upsetting false assumptions, and old traditions. Luper took the brunt of the white community’s anger about the sit-ins. She received bomb threats, someone broke into her house and burned all her furniture and clothing, and received hundreds of threatening telephone calls.
In 1990, Oklahoma teachers protested and went on strike for better pay. On April 17, 1990 more than half of Oklahoma's 36,000 teachers went on strike closing nearly a quarter of the state's school districts. Chanting and carrying signs, thousands of teachers and their supporters converged on the State Capitol and other nearby state buildings after the State Senate killed an education bill that would have included pay increases. Estimates ranged from 5,000 to 15,000 demonstrators at the capital.The Oklahoma Education Association, the union that called the walkout, said about 20,000 teachers, or 60 percent of the state teaching force, were off the job Tuesday. That's about 4,000 more than the first day of the strike. Ms. Garrett estimated the walkout has affected about 60 percent, or 343,200, of the state's 572,000 students.Teachers are venting their frustration over the Legislature's failure after an eight-month special session to enact a $230 million school reform and tax plan that contains money for teacher raises.
And the protests continue. This year, on January 21, 2017, more than 12,000 women, men, and all manner of Oklahomans took to the state capitol to join in the International Women's March on Washington. Originating as a women's march, the event began to morph to encompass all manner of grievances of citizens from treatment of women, to teacher pay, to LGBTQ issues, to issues of race, religion, and other social and cultural causes. One definitive narrative cannot be pinned down for this march other than it became a movement for those who felt disenfranchised by the state and government. Marches in London, Washington DC, and New York City drew 500,000+ people to the demonstrations. Globally, the marches went off without a hitch, with no violence or vandalism perpetrated. For many Oklahomans this was an important march for them to participate in and to be connected to a greater cause. The right to protest and peacefully assemble was seen as quintessential to the growth of the nation and right of governance by the people and so it was incorporated into the First Amendment. The First Amendment was written because at America’s inception, citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms. Our blueprint for personal freedom and the hallmark of an open society, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Without the First Amendment, religious minorities could be persecuted, the government might well establish a national religion, protesters could be silenced, the press could not criticize government, and citizens could not mobilize for social change. Women Freedom Fighters: Pioneering the Frontier |