Muskogee Co. OK - History of Muskogee County

====================================================================
     USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by:  Mrya Gormley  myravg@prodigy.net
====================================================================
Muskogee County, Oklahoma History

   What is now Muskogee County received its first public mention in 1805
   when then President Thomas Jefferson addressed Congress seconding the
   recommendation of Meriwether Lewis that a trading post be established
   in this locality. French fur traders had trafficked in the area for
   some time and Joseph Bogy is reputed to have established a trading
   post in the Three Forks area in 1806, but the first real settlement
   was established in 1817 at Three Forks on the south bank of the
   Verdigris River at the lower falls opposite the town of Coretta (now
   called Okay). Three Forks was so named because it was the junction of
   the Arkansas, Verdigris and Grand rivers. This property was acquired
   in 1819 by Bozier and Pryor, who had accompanied Lewis and Clark on
   their expedition. Colonel August Pierre Chouteau acquired it in 1825,
   establishing an Osage Agency and in 1829, approximately 1,200 Creeks
   were located nearby, but when it was found that they were occupying
   property of the Cherokee Nation, they removed west into the Choska
   Bottoms.
   Muskogee, Indian Territory
   
   Prior to the statehood of Oklahoma in 1907, what is now Muskogee
   County was part of the Creek and Cherokee Nations. No county records
   exist prior to 1907. Genealogical records for some ancestors who lived
   in this area before 1907 may be found in records of the Five Civilized
   Tribes Agency at Muskogee, the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma
   City and the federal archives in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1889 a federal
   court was established at Muskogee. These records are held partly in
   the National Archives in Fort Worth and at Oklahoma Historical
   Society. The 26 recording districts of the federal court accepted land
   records, marriages and other legal proceedings. It was not until 1898
   that a non-citizen of Indian Territory, generally a white person,
   could legally own land in this area. It was at time that town sites
   were laid out and sold. Upon statehood, most of these land records
   were retained by the local county governments. Early court records for
   what is now Muskogee County will be found at Muskogee County
   Courthouse, Oklahoma Historical Society or the National Archives in
   Fort Worth. The U.S. federal court, which once included most of Indian
   Territory, later was divided into four districts and 26 substations
   with the Central District, established in 1895, covering the area of
   the Creek and Seminole Nations and Muskogee was its court seat.
     * MARRIAGE RECORDS -- Prior to 1907 the marriage records of white
       citizens in Indian Territory were recorded in the various
       recording districts of the U.S. federal court. Most of these
       records have been transcribed and can be found at the Oklahoma
       Historical Society Library and/or on microfilm at the LDS (Mormon)
       Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Marriage Records for
       Muskogee prior to statehood are in 28 volumes and they cover the
       time frame of July 1890 to November 1907.
                                      
                        Hotel Adams 1897 Hotel Adams
                                      
             Hotel Adams -- from Muskogee Times, Nov. 25, 1897
                                      
   Hotel Adams was built in 1889 by John Adams and others on a site which
   faced the M.K.T. Railroad tracks on Okmulgee Avenue in Muskogee, Creek
   Nation, Indian Territory. It had 60 elegantly furnished rooms,
   electricity, steam, bathrooms and a barbershop. The depot and ticket
   offices were housed in a portion of the hotel. The day clerk in 1897
   was Milo E. Adams, son of John Adams, and Bert Peterson/Peterman was
   the night clerk. The hotel was destroyed by fire in February of 1899.
   
   Source: Muskogee County Genealogical Society quarterly, Volume 2, No.
   4, 1985, page 3.