Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-05-02
GREW ON THE PLAINS
OKLAHOMA CITY, METROPOLIS OF
THE PRAIRlES.

OKLAHOMA CITY, METROPOLIS OF
THE PRAIRlEs.
Six Years Ago Antelope Roamcd Where
Brick Blocks Now Hold Sway-Elcctric
Lights, Watcrworks, Etc, Testify That
Its Citizens Are Abreast of the Times.
Six years ago the site of Oklahoma
City was q prairie over which the ante
lope roamed. Today it has more than
10000 inhabitants, handsome brick
blocks, q water and sewerage system,
two large school buildings, three daily
newspapers, Touring mills and facto-
RIGS, gas and electric lights and spa
cious opera house. not to speak of taste
full residences, whose architecture would
do credit to an eastern city Of the same
size, writes correspondent of the New
York Sun.
A business directory issued recently
shows that Oklahoma City has banks,
3 book stores, IL hotels, 8 livery stables,
8 jewelry and 8 music stores, 5printing
offices, 8 lumber yards. 13 restaurants,
8plumbers, 8 photographers. 25 grocer
les, . hardware stores, 10 dry goods and
s millinery stores Other trades are all
we'll represented.
Like every other place, Oklahoma
City is we'll supplied with professional
men. It has 48 lawyers, 81 physicians,
IL dentists and architects. Since the
directory referred to was published All
ice plant, machine shops, cannery,
planning mills, plow factory, foundry,
cotton gin elevators and telephone
exchange have been established. Con-
siderably more than 500 tradeslnen and
manufacturers arc now doing business
on their individual accounts in Okla
homa City.
Architecturally Oklahoma City re-
sembles Emporia, Kan, which is high
praise, for Enporia is one Of the hand
somest little cities III the west. The
business houses in Oklahoma City are
grouped together on cross streets, in
stead Of being strung out along street
beginning and ending i'll the prairie,
which is q dismal feature of great
many Of the new western towns. The
wooden business structures are rapidly
being replaced by buildings of stone
and brick, and it is not too much to
say that in this respect there is no town
Of equal size i'll Kansas that shows to
such advantage as Oklahoma City.
There are already two brick schools
in the town, and a third is building OF
school population of 1,77S i'll Oklaho-
ma City 1887 are white children and
241 arc negroes.
Above all things this community is
religious. Among its churches are Cath
olic, Methodist (North), Methodist
(South), Episcopal, Presbyterian, Bap-
fist, Congregational and Christian and
German Methodist.
To protect its buildings Oklahoma
City has brand new and hustling fire
department., with teams, hook and lad.
der trucks, hose pipe wagons and fire.
mems quarters that would surprise al
old New York red shirt who happened
out here.
The town now covers $50 acres Of
ground, which is an addition of 1GC
acres to the original plated section.
The extra land was given by the federal
government for school purposes.
With adequate railroad connections,
which are now in sight, Oklahoma City
will experience boom compared with
which its previous growth was not 8
circumstance. At least such is the
dream of its real estate hustlers and
leading merchants.