- Chilocco Indian Agricultural School
-
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School
One of the abandoned buildings at Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, a school for Native Americans that operated from 1884 to 1980 located approximately 20 miles north of Ponca City, Oklahoma. Photo Credit: Hugh Pickens
Location: US 77 and E0018 Rd., Newkirk, Oklahoma Coordinates: 36°59′6″N 97°3′45″W / 36.985°N 97.0625°WCoordinates: 36°59′6″N 97°3′45″W / 36.985°N 97.0625°W Area: 288 acres (117 ha) Architect: Bidwell, Edmund; Pauley, Hoyland & Smith Architectural style: Romanesque, Colonial Revival, et al. Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 06000792[1] Added to NRHP: September 08, 2006 Chilocco Indian School was an agricultural school for Native Americans located in north-central Oklahoma from 1884 to 1980. It was located approximately 20 miles north of Ponca City, Oklahoma and seven miles north of Newkirk, Oklahoma, near the Kansas border.
The U.S. Congress in 1882 authorized the construction of a non-reservation boarding school in Oklahoma. Major James A. Haworth, first Superintendent of Indian Schools, selected a site along the Chilocco Creek. The school opened in 1884 and provided vocational education to Native Americans. As the school expanded, additional structures were added in 1893, 1899, 1903, 1909, 1923, 1931 and 1932. In the 1960s, several of the older buildings were demolished to make room for a new dormitory and machine shop. The school's facilities at one time included more than 100 buildings, including a dining hall and hospital.
The curriculum at the school focused on agricultural trades, including horseshoeing and blacksmithing, but also included building trades, printing, shoe repair, tailoring, leather work, and in later years plumbing, electrical work, welding, auto mechanics, food services and office education.
The Chilocco School closed in June 1980 when the U.S. Congress ceased funding. In the school's 1980 yearbook, Superintendent C. C. Tillman wrote, "Chilocco is another in a long list of broken promises."
The school's land was granted land interest to five local tribes as the Chilocco Development Authority; the Kaw Nation (.10 mineral interest), the Otoe-Missouria Tribe (.10 mineral interest), the Pawnee Nation (.10 mineral interest), the Ponca Nation (.10 mineral interest), the Tonkawa Tribe (.10 mineral interest) and the Cherokee Nation (.50 mineral interest) hold no surface interest after the school closed. Between 1989 and 2001, the property was leased to Narcanon, which operated a substance abuse rehabilitation center at the site. As of 2008, the property was vacant.
Notable alumni
- Wes Studi, actor
External links
- Oklahoma Historical Society: Chilocco Indian Agricultural School
- National Park Service: Chilocco Indian Agricultural School
- Chilocco Indian School History
- Abandoned Oklahoma - Chilocco Indian School REVISTED
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- Historic districts in Oklahoma
- National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma
- Colonial Revival architecture
- Oklahoma Registered Historic Place stubs
- Oklahoma school stubs
- Buildings and structures in Kay County, Oklahoma
- Native American schools
- Educational institutions established in 1884
- Educational institutions disestablished in 1980
- Defunct schools in the United States
- Native American boarding schools
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
