Council Grove School

Council Grove

During the Land Run of 1889 there was a section area of land held back from the homesteading bordered by what is now Melrose Lane on the south, the Canadian River on the west, north to 1/4 of a mile north of NW 36th, and east to Ann Arbor St. This land was posted by a double furrow plowed around it so that it would not be homesteaded. The heavily wooded area was known by various names such as The Grove, the Woodpile and The Woodlot. Wood from this reserve was for the use of Fort Reno and was guarded by Cavalry Troopers. The Troopers erected a stockade approximately 1/4 mile east and just north of this sign. When the fort had no more use for this land it was appraised by a Washington appraiser and auctioned at a Brush Arbor sale set up near the west edge of the reserve.

At the first sale held in 1899 the land sold in 40 acre tracts for about $2.00 per acre. Another sale was held some years later and the land sold for $11.00 to $12.00 per acre.

On June 11, 1892 a Post Office was established just north of the present Railroad Crossing on Council Road. It was first named Council Grove but on December 7, 1894 the name changed to Council and it was discontinued August 15, 1906. The structure later served as a General Store and was also a ticket agency for the Choctaw, the Oklahoma, and the Gulf Railroads which eventually became the Rock Island Railroad.

One of the first schools opened in Oklahoma County was originally located on West Reno. Later it was moved by wagon to the southeast corner of Melrose Lane and Council Road. A second school building was constructed on 1900 and the present red brick structure was erected in 1938. It is only the third building to stand on that site. In 1959 the Council Grove School District joined with four other school districts from the west side of Oklahoma County and formed the Western Heights Public School District. In 1962 a new structure was built on the east side of the property which served the district as an elementary school until about August of 2011 when the current Elementary School was opened.

This marker stands on part of the original Homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac F. Melrose.