Grove Beginnings...Part Two
By Rose Stauber
The Original Plat of the Town of Grove, and What it Held
The plat of the town of Grove was approved by the Department of the Interior on Nov. 22, 1902. Next, appraisers had prepared a Schedule of Appraisement of the Town of Grove, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. The year 1904 is stamped on this document. In 1906, the time had come to sell the lots as townsites were not included in the allotment of land under the Dawes Commission. Both citizens (Cherokees) and whites could buy in townsites. However, citizens paid half price and others full appraisal price.
The original plat included 210 acres mainly in the northwest quarter of Section 5 and a slice on the east side of Section 6, Township 24, Range 24. Olympus Cemetery also was transferred. The Cherokee Nation sold the ten acres of the cemetery by patent to the Town Of Grove May 10, 1906, for $75.
Main Street ran north/south through the town plat just where it runs today. It was 95 feet wide. On the north, west of Main, the boundary was First Street. East of Main was Remsen Avenue. The east boundary were the blocks on the east side of Cherokee Street. The boundary on the south was Eighth Street.
It seems likely that most Grove citizens haven't noticed the absence of Eighth Street. Next time you drive down Main or any other central north/south street, watch the street signs. They will read "7th Street", then "9th Street". No 8th Street, except for one block on the west side near the school. Check it out; 8th Street almost doesn't exist, but that's the way the plat is laid out.
The west boundary was Elk Street, another piece of a street only three blocks long on the plat although another block has been added north of Third Street. Between Third and Fourth Streets was block 25 listed as a park. The Town of Grove, O.W. Killian, mayor, paid $25 for the entire block. This is where City Hall and the Community Center are located now. The only other purchase by the town was a lot in Block 26, just east of Block 25, where a building held the jail, appraised value $120.
Two churches got land. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Grove had a frame church valued at $1,200 on Lot 1, Block 34. That is on Main Street where the Methodist Church was until it moved. The Presbyterian Church now owns the location. The church's property included Lots 2, 3, and 4. A frame parsonage, valued at $250, occupied Lot 3. The church and parsonage were listed as "gratis". The church did have to pay a total of $67 on Lots 3 and 4. A barn, estimated value $20, sat on Lot 4.
The Christian Church of Grove was being built on Block 35, Lots 1 and 2, just where it is today. Their building was described as a stone foundation and church under construction. They also got the land gratis. The city fathers did not neglect education. On June 8, 1905, the vacant, unimproved lots in the town plat were sold at public auction. The town of Grove bought for school purposes Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 in Block 57 at $54 each.
A year later, the Grove Educational Association, Incorporated, O.W. Killan, president, purchased Lot 5, Block 57 at the same price. The lot contained a stone foundation valued at $200. The school still occupies this property. The next article will take a look at the kinds of homes and businesses and some of the people who lived in Grove in 1906, the year before statehood.
Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber
The Original Plat of the Town of Grove, and What it Held
The plat of the town of Grove was approved by the Department of the Interior on Nov. 22, 1902. Next, appraisers had prepared a Schedule of Appraisement of the Town of Grove, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. The year 1904 is stamped on this document. In 1906, the time had come to sell the lots as townsites were not included in the allotment of land under the Dawes Commission. Both citizens (Cherokees) and whites could buy in townsites. However, citizens paid half price and others full appraisal price.
The original plat included 210 acres mainly in the northwest quarter of Section 5 and a slice on the east side of Section 6, Township 24, Range 24. Olympus Cemetery also was transferred. The Cherokee Nation sold the ten acres of the cemetery by patent to the Town Of Grove May 10, 1906, for $75.
Main Street ran north/south through the town plat just where it runs today. It was 95 feet wide. On the north, west of Main, the boundary was First Street. East of Main was Remsen Avenue. The east boundary were the blocks on the east side of Cherokee Street. The boundary on the south was Eighth Street.
It seems likely that most Grove citizens haven't noticed the absence of Eighth Street. Next time you drive down Main or any other central north/south street, watch the street signs. They will read "7th Street", then "9th Street". No 8th Street, except for one block on the west side near the school. Check it out; 8th Street almost doesn't exist, but that's the way the plat is laid out.
The west boundary was Elk Street, another piece of a street only three blocks long on the plat although another block has been added north of Third Street. Between Third and Fourth Streets was block 25 listed as a park. The Town of Grove, O.W. Killian, mayor, paid $25 for the entire block. This is where City Hall and the Community Center are located now. The only other purchase by the town was a lot in Block 26, just east of Block 25, where a building held the jail, appraised value $120.
Two churches got land. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Grove had a frame church valued at $1,200 on Lot 1, Block 34. That is on Main Street where the Methodist Church was until it moved. The Presbyterian Church now owns the location. The church's property included Lots 2, 3, and 4. A frame parsonage, valued at $250, occupied Lot 3. The church and parsonage were listed as "gratis". The church did have to pay a total of $67 on Lots 3 and 4. A barn, estimated value $20, sat on Lot 4.
The Christian Church of Grove was being built on Block 35, Lots 1 and 2, just where it is today. Their building was described as a stone foundation and church under construction. They also got the land gratis. The city fathers did not neglect education. On June 8, 1905, the vacant, unimproved lots in the town plat were sold at public auction. The town of Grove bought for school purposes Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 in Block 57 at $54 each.
A year later, the Grove Educational Association, Incorporated, O.W. Killan, president, purchased Lot 5, Block 57 at the same price. The lot contained a stone foundation valued at $200. The school still occupies this property. The next article will take a look at the kinds of homes and businesses and some of the people who lived in Grove in 1906, the year before statehood.
Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber
posted by Editor | 3:18 AM
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