Garfield County Courthouse (Enid, Oklahoma)

Garfield County Courthouse
Location W. Broadway, Enid, Oklahoma
Coordinates 36°23′49″N 97°52′44″W / 36.39694°N 97.87889°W / 36.39694; -97.87889Coordinates: 36°23′49″N 97°52′44″W / 36.39694°N 97.87889°W / 36.39694; -97.87889
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1930
Architect Reinhart & Donovan Co.; Hawk & Parr
MPS County Courthouses of Oklahoma TR
NRHP Reference # 84003018[1]
Added to NRHP August 23, 1984

The Garfield County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in Enid, Oklahoma. It is on the National Register of Historic Places both individually and as a part of the Enid Downtown Historic District.

History

Previous Courthouses (1896 - 1936)

Enid's courthouse in 1908.

Enid's first courthouse opened on April 1, 1896. It consisted of a two story brick building, which the County soon outgrew. Enid's second courthouse was built by O.A. Campbell of Oklahoma City in 1907 from Oklahoma granite and Indiana stone. The building was located in the center of Broadway, surrounded by sidewalks, and fully landscaped. Its south side was located where the front of the Enid Post Office is now.[2] (Enid’s post office used to be where the public library is located now, and Enid's public library was a Carnegie building located at 402 North Independence.[3]) On January 29, 1931, a fire broke out in the jail and spread to the roof, then quickly spread to the rest of the building. All prisoners were safely evacuated, and county records were rescued. From 1931 to 1936, the County operated out of an agricultural building, and later the Broadway Tower.[4]

Modern Courthouse

The clock tower of the Garfield County Courthouse.

The current Art Deco style Courthouse was built by Hawk & Parr and Reinhart & Donovan companies beginning on August 15, 1934 and was completed in 1936.[5] The jail was refurbished in the 1960s.[6] Garfield County Courthouse consists of county offices and courtrooms housed in the basement and first three floors, and Garfield County Jail occupies the top two floors. Funded by the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, artist Ruth Augur painted historical murals on the courthouse walls.[7] In 1996, Enid artists Paladine Roye and his brother, Burgess Roye, also painted murals relating to Native American history.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ http://www.brownlaw-ok.com/enidhistory/articles/court.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.enid.org/library/history.asp
  4. ↑ http://www.ocgi.okstate.edu/shpo/nhrpdfs/85002789.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/OK/Garfield/state.html
  6. ↑ http://www.justice.gov/crt/split/documents/garfield_county_findlet.pdf
  7. ↑ http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/G/GA012.html
  8. ↑ "Native American artist dies at age 54" Enid News & Eagle, May 27th, 2001 (accessed March 22, 2010)
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