A Missing Marker In Cleveland County
Another historical marker has gone missing along Oklahoma's roadways. What makes this missing Cleveland County marker stand out is no one can't remember what marker was there. Even the Oklahoma Historical Society doesn't know.
South of Noble along Highway 77, a roadside sign tells drivers that a historical marker lies one mile ahead. But a mile ahead there is no marker, and no one in Noble can remember ever seeing one.News9.com: Historic Marker Sign Leads Noble Residents to Disappointment
There is speculation it's for a Washington Irving or Nathan Boone camp site, or a marker commemorating the 1834 March of the Dragoons. No one knows for sure.
Whit Edwards, director of special projects at the Oklahoma Historical Society verified that Irving never went through Noble and maintains probably the marker went by the wayside during highway construction. He said removal of historical markers is typical of many markers in the state during highway work.Norman Transcript: Historical marker a mystery
During our travels though out the state we often find, or not find as the case may be, missing markers. Most we found are missing due to road construction, theft, or just erased by the ravages of time.
Edwards said what the historical society would like to do is to have the GPS coordinates of all the markers in the state. Then, the historical society and the department of transportation or county commissioners would know where all the markers are, so when highway contracts are written, markers would be identified and the contractors would be required to replace markers after construction is completed.Norman Transcript: Historical marker a mystery
Our mission here at BlogOklahoma.us is to have fun exploring the great state of Oklahoma, and to possibly learn a little something along the way. This mission lead us to create our Historic Places Database. We travel the state, find all of these historic places, and record them so you can find them too. Most of what we've recorded so far have GPS coordinates. We've even put up an experimantal Google Map showing you the location for each of them.
When I found out about this missing marker, via News9.com, I did a little reasearch on my own with no luck. I found it a little funny later when I read the Norman Transcript article that I used the same resources they did.
But that still doesn't solve the mystery of what the Noble marker commemorated. Edwards consulted his copy of "Mark of Heritage" by Muriel Wright, Kenny Franks and George Shirk, published by the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1979. The book lists various historical sites and markers around the state, but the one in Noble was not listed.Norman Transcript: Historical marker a mystery
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s website, www.okhistory.org under a section called Historical Sites, lists three markers in Cleveland County. One is the City of Norman/Cleveland County, another is the Birthplace of the University of Oklahoma, and the third is the Run of ’89 Southern Boundary.
To be honest here. The lack of information provided on the Oklahoma Historical Society’s website was another reason we started our Historic Places Database. What good is a generic list of markers that only tells what county they are in?
One resource, if anyone has time that is, is to dig into the "Chronicles of Oklahoma" archives. I'm betting you'll find a reference to this missing marker in there. Pay attention to any "Notes" sections. I've found several marker locations using it. That is of course assuming the Oklahoma Historical Society put up that marker. If it was placed by a county or civic historical society, it will be much harder to find. At that point you'll have to dig through local newspaper archives, something that can be quite daunting.
If you have any information about the former marker, please contact The Transcript or the Oklahoma Historical Society. Until then, the historical marker touted by a sign near Bell Creek will remain a mystery — and missing.Norman Transcript: Historical marker a mystery
If you have any information regarding this or any other missing Oklahoma historical marker, please feel free to let us know. You can contact us on Twitter, Facebook, leave a comment, or e-mail us.