T H E S TAT E | H I S T O R Y Oklahoma boasted a variety of interurban railway cars in the early twentieth century. Photo courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society
Remembering the Railways
At certain points in Oklahoma history, interurban railways transported people and goods around the state.
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Fair Meadows Race Track in Tulsa hosts a variety of horse races in the warmer months. Photos courtesy Expo Square
of that.” There are some things to remember when you first visit a track. Lies reminds visitors who are close to the horses to be observers, and not to make too much noise. The observer will notice that the horses are all very healthy and well groomed; Oklahoma also has a thriving aftercare program, according to Lies. Many of the racers have a long, useful career as hunters, jumpers or pleasure horses after their racing days are done. “People in [Oklahoma], they know horses. Oklahoma is a state of horses,” says Lies. “People here ... love them, they get them, they understand them, and so racing just fits into the culture. But it’s a really easy hobby to pick up, as far as coming out to the track, experiencing the horses in person.” BONNIE RUCKER
s trolley cars that ran on rails, early 20th century interurban cars often carried about 60 people. These cars were cleaner than railroad compartments because they usually ran on electric power from overhead lines. They were also created for passenger comfort. The words “interurban” and “streetcar” are sometimes used interchangeably. However, streetcars moved people short distances within a city. On the other hand, interurban cars were created for high-speed and long distance travel between urban areas. Around 1900, interurbans became popular in the United States because they were important for urban development. Owned by various companies, they ran from, to, within, and through Oklahoma locations including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Sapulpa, Lawton, Okmulgee, Bartlesville, Ardmore, Enid, Miami and Muskogee, among others. Some were fully operational by Statehood Day in 1907. One interurban company transported soldiers from Fort Sill to Lawton and Medicine Park. Although it began as a gasoline-powered railcar, by 1908 the El Reno Interurban Railway Company was operating as the “Electric Interurban.” Cars left El Reno’s Southern Hotel every hour from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. with stops in Banner, Yukon, Putnam City and Oklahoma City. The cars left Oklahoma City every hour from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. But in August 1911, the Oklahoma Railway Company’s vast trolley empire acquired the El Reno Interurban. The interurban fare from Oklahoma City to Yukon was 50 cents one way, or 90 cents round trip. Oklahoma gained statehood on November 16, Besides people, interurbans often carried goods. Meat, vegetables, milk, newspapers and 1907. On Dec. 18, 1907, the legislature’s first bill other items were unloaded in Yukon each day became law. onto the 40 x 50-foot dock on the northwest Senate Bill One, aka the “Coach Bill” or the end of the Yukon Interurban Depot. Delivery state’s first Jim Crow law, stated that “every men waited at the dock to unload the goods, railway company, urban or suburban car comand then haul them to Yukon and Piedmont pany, street car or interurban car or railway merchants. company ... shall provide separate coaches or Fred Maier was Yukon’s Interurban Depot compartments as hereinafter provided for the agent from 1928 until 1946. When the trolley accommodation of the white and negro races, line closed down, Maier bought the property which separate coaches or cars shall be equal and the depot structure. The Maier family still in all points of comfort and convenience.” owns the historic Yukon Interurban Depot structure and the property on which it stands. The bill also required separate station waitAfter World War II, many Oklahomans ing rooms for black and white people. Black had money to purchase their own vehicles. passengers boarded at the rear of the car, and Also, roads improved, and bus lines proaccommodations were not, in reality, equal. vided more options. The Oklahoma Railway Jim Crow laws involved societal segregation Interurban, from Oklahoma City to El Reno, or discrimination against black people. In 1914, ceased operations in 1946. Although most the U.S. Supreme Court declared the law conOklahoma interurbans stopped operating stitutional, but reversed the decision in 1952. In in the 1940s, some did not cease operations 1962, the Oklahoma Legislature repealed public until 1960.
Segregation on Transportation
transportation segregation statutes.
CAROL MOWDY BOND
JUNE 2022 | WWW.OKMAG.COM
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