New Cordell Courthouse Square Historic District

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New Cordell Courthouse Square Historic District
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Location Roughly bounded by Temple, E. Second, Glenn English, and E. Clay Sts., New Cordell, Oklahoma
Coordinates 35°17′30″N98°59′22″W / 35.29167°N 98.98944°W / 35.29167; -98.98944 Coordinates: 35°17′30″N98°59′22″W / 35.29167°N 98.98944°W / 35.29167; -98.98944
Area 2.8 acres (1.1 ha)
NRHP reference # 98001592 [1]
Added to NRHP January 7, 1999

The New Cordell Courthouse Square Historic District is a district comprising the historic commercial center of New Cordell, Washita County, Oklahoma. The district grew around the Washita County Courthouse site, which was planned in 1897 when the townsite was laid out. The commercial buildings surrounding the courthouse were mainly built from 1900 to 1925; some newer buildings, including several on First Street, are also part of the district. 80 buildings are included in the district, of which 52 are considered contributing buildings to the district's historic character. [2] The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1999. [1]

New Cordell, Oklahoma City in Oklahoma, United States

New Cordell is a city in, and county seat of, Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 183. The population was 2,915 at the 2010 census. The community was previously established a few miles from the current site, but was moved about 1900. It was named for a U.S. Postal Service employee in Washington D. C., Wayne W. Cordell. The official name is New Cordell, though it is now commonly called Cordell.

Washita County, Oklahoma County in the United States

Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,629. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891.

Oklahoma State of the United States of America

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. It is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the fifty United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which dramatically increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Contents

History

New Cordell was established in 1897, when the community of Cordell moved to a new townsite. The new townsite included a space for a courthouse square, and the residents of New Cordell soon applied to move the county seat there from Cloud Chief. New Cordell had a more central location and a better water supply than Cloud Chief; partly due to these reasons, an election in the late 1890s resulted in New Cordell winning the county seat, and the courthouse was moved there in 1900. After an extended legal battle, Congress legitimized the result of the election in 1904. [2]

Cloud Chief, Oklahoma Place in Oklahoma, United States

Cloud Chief is a small unincorporated community in Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. Once the county seat of Washita County, it is now considered a ghost town. Only a few buildings remain, mostly in disrepair.

The relocation of the courthouse led to significant commercial growth in the courthouse square. The Bes Line Railroad (which later became part of the Frisco Railroad) opened a line through New Cordell in 1902, spurring the city's agricultural economy. Numerous brick commercial buildings were constructed on the courthouse square to house the city's new stores, professional offices, and specialty businesses. The present courthouse, the county's third, was built in 1910. [2]

Buildings

The Classical Revival courthouse, designed by Solomon Andrew Layton and his firm, is the centerpiece of the district. Major early buildings built on the courthouse square include the city hall, Florence Hospital, an opera house, and three banks. The many other commercial buildings in the district are mostly brick Commercial Style structures. The Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles are also present in the district; one prominent example of these styles is the Cordell Carnegie Public Library on First Street. The U.S. Post Office, Washita County Jail, and New Cordell Fire and Police Station were added to the district in the 1930s and 1940s; all three buildings were Works Progress Administration projects and exhibit Moderne influences. [2]

Solomon Andrew Layton American architect

Solomon Andrew Layton was an American architect who designed over 100 public buildings in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area and was part of the Layton & Forsyth firm. Layton headed partnerships in Oklahoma from 1902 to 1943; his works included the Canadian County Jail in El Reno, Oklahoma State Capitol, sixteen Oklahoma courthouses, and several buildings on the University of Oklahoma campus. Layton had a considerable influence on Oklahoma City architecture, and he became known as the "dean of Oklahoma City architecture"

Mission Revival architecture architectural movement, style

The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California.

The Spanish Colonial Revival Style is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

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