Published: June 04, 2009 10:28 pm         

Humphrey Heritage Village to re-open Saturday at center

Beginning Saturday, the grounds of Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will be open to the public with the re-opening of Humphrey Heritage Village.

During the summer, the village will be open to the public noon to 5 p.m. each Saturday and for event programming during the week.

On Saturday afternoons, tours will be provided of the four historical buildings in the village. The buildings include the only remaining U.S. Land Office for the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in 1893. The land office was the first building constructed in Enid and is one of the most significant historic structures in northwest Oklahoma. Settlers registered their claims and settled disputes with claim jumpers in this building.

The Glidewell House is a graceful Victorian home, re-stored to circa 1905 and tells the story of both a family and a lifestyle through its period décor, original and era-appropriate furnishings and the Glidewell family belongings. The house was relocated from the outskirts of Helena to the village.

Turkey Creek School is a one-room county school built west of Enid in 1895 and educated students from the first through eighth grades. More than 14,000 fourth-grade students have attended “A Day at Turkey Creek School” in the past decade. This living history program allows students and teachers to experience a typical school day in 1910. Jeanette Brainard, the teacher of the living history program, attended the school as a child.

The village church was constructed on the corner of York and 4th in Enid prior to 1910 and originally served an Episcopalian congregation. It later became home to a congregation of Seventh-day Adventists. The church is used for special community services, weddings and private ceremonies.

The next event to be held on the grounds of Humphrey Heritage Village will be Chautauqua in the Park Tuesday through June 13.