Owasso Museum | Historical Society Newsletters

Owasso Museum

Museum Hours

• Tuesday through Friday: Noon – 4:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Other times by Appointment
• Closed Sunday, Monday and Holidays
• Admission Free- Donations Accepted
• Tour groups, school classes, Scout groups, etc. welcome (appointment appreciated)

Marcia Boutwell, Museum Director mboutwell@cityofowasso.com

Museum History

The Owasso Historical Museum is housed in a brick structure on Main Street known as the Komma Building. It was built by John Komma in 1928 to house the Mapes & Komma Grocery & Market, a business owned by W.T. Mapes & Rose Komma. In 1934, after the death of Mr. Mapes, the name was changed to Komma’s Grocery. The grocery store was located in the north half of the building, while the south half housed, at various times, a bakery, cafes, and a dry goods store. When Rose Komma retired after 39 years in business, she sold the building to a New York firm who later sold it to Pandora Ellis Parsons, granddaughter of Dr. Jacob B. Ellis, a medical doctor who practiced in Owasso in the early 1900’s. From that time until the Owasso Historical Society purchased the building from Mrs. Parsons on August 31, 1987, it was utilized by several businesses, including a flower shop, an insurance office, and a pump supply store.

After the Historical Society purchased the building, volunteer labor refurbished it to be used as a museum, which was officially opened on November 3, 1991. Prior to opening the museum, the Owasso Historical Society (organized on April 26, 1979) had stored historical items in the Owasso Library. A limited amount of space had also been provided by the library to display some of the artifacts. The vacant lot to the south of the museum building was purchased from the City of Owasso in 1996, and in 2001 a 1200 sq. ft. addition was completed on the west side (back) of the building. The addition contains a large display/meeting room and a work room. As it became more difficult for the Owasso Historical Society to maintain the museum, talks were initiated with the City of Owasso for the City to assume ownership, operation and development of the museum. A deed conveyed ownership to the City of Owasso on April 1, 2003, and the City, in turn, forgave the remainder of the debt owed by the Historical Society for the land purchased in 1996. Consequently, the museum is now owned, maintained & operated by the City of Owasso. A member of the city staff offices at the museum and is recognized as the Museum Director. The Museum Director is the only paid staff – volunteers are on hand during the hours the museum is open. The Owasso Historical Society is still heavily involved with the museum, and members serve as volunteers and assist with displays.

Mission Statement

“It shall be the mission of the Owasso Historical Museum to collect, preserve, and exhibit objects and materials relating to the history of the City of Owasso and surrounding area, and to provide related educational services for the purpose of increasing and enriching public knowledge of the history and heritage of the area.”

Exhibits reflect the Mission Statement. Some of the unique items include a working player piano and many piano rolls; a working Edison Fireside Model A Phonograph manufactured only from 1909-1911, a phonograph horn and approximately two dozen cylinder records; a 1920’s chicken incubator; a wooden ice box; and artifacts from some of the early Owasso businesses.

Owasso History

Owasso began as a settlement in 1881, located in the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, near what is now 66 th Street North and North 129th East Ave. It was called Elm Creek, and was named for Elm Creek, a tributary of Bird Creek. The first settler was H.T. (Tole) Richardson. In June of 1893 plans began to be made for a rail line to be extended south from Bartlesville to the cattle ranches in the vicinity of Bird Creek. At that time there were already several residences, a blacksmith shop, and a general store in the Elm Creek Settlement. Preston Ballard, owner of the general store, established a post office in the general store on February 10, 1898 & was appointed the first postmaster. The Joseph T. Barnes family moved to the settlement in 1897, & Joseph and Luther Barnes bought the blacksmith shop in 1898.

In 1897, the Kansas, Oklahoma Central & Southwestern Railway Company acquired right-of-way approximately three miles northwest of the Elm Creek Settlement, dammed a natural spring to form a lake as a water supply for the rail line, & built a depot about a mile south of the lake. The depot was torn down in 1942. Late in 1898, Joseph & Luther Barnes moved their blacksmith shop to the new community. The shop became a temporary home for the Joseph Barnes family & was the first residence officially moved to the new depot community. During 1898, many of the residents and businesses moved from the Elm Creek Settlement to the new community. Preston Ballard moved his post office & general store during that time, & the new community became know as Elm Creek, since the post office retained its name.

The railroad completed its line in 1899, & its parent company, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, took over the line and property. The first train came into Elm Creek on November 1, 1899. As the land around the end of this railroad developed, the Osage Indian word Owasso , meaning “the end” or “turn around”, was adopted to identify the area because the rail line ended in a turnaround “Y” near the depot. The name of the Elm Creek post office was officially changed to Owasso on January 24, 1900. The rail line was not extended into Tulsa until 1905.

A plat of the original townsite of Owasso, Cherokee Nation, I.T. was signed by the Secretary of the Interior on March 26, 1904, in connection with the town’s incorporation. That plat shows three streets running north and south and eight streets running east and west. The north/south streets were named Oklahoma, Kansas & Missouri, and the east/west streets north of what is now Broadway were named for Union generals, while the east/west streets to the south were named for Confederate generals. The original street names were changed to their present names in about 1960.

By the time Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907, Owasso had a population of 379 within the town limits. The first newspaper was The Owasso Ledger, and was first published on August 7, 1903 by U. P. Wardrip. The subscription price was $1.00 per year, paid in advance. The Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company was granted a franchise on February 6, 1905 for the town’s first telephone exchange. Until the first water tower was erected in 1924, with Spavinaw as the water source, water was brought into town in barrels from the Owasso Lake & sold for .50 a barrel.

(Information taken from old newspaper articles, visits with residents, and a pamphlet entitled Highlights From An Illustrated History of Owasso by David J. McDonough)

Owasso Historical Society

Founded 1979

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Julia M. Stokes, President
Betty Morton, Vice President
Ina Boyington, Secretary
John Mowery, Treasurer
Kaye Gibson, Historian
Kathryn Tumleson, Membership
Juanita Barnes
Frances Barros
Marcia Boutwell
Jerry Whited
Ralph Cunningham

Membership Fees

• Student Annual Membership: $1
• Individual Annual Membership: $5
• Family Annual Membership: $10
• Business Annual Membership: $25
• Life Membership: $100
• Business Life Membership: $250

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