Lexington, Oklahoma

You're driving through Noble, Oklahoma, a town that owes its existence to a visionary named Albert Rennie and a railroad. Back before the 1889 Land Run, this area was wide open ranchland. Rennie claimed 160 acres right…

Right here in McClain County, you're driving through the heart of a 19th-century cattle empire built by Montford T. Johnson. Born in 1843 in the Chickasaw Nation, Johnson was encouraged by Jesse Chisholm himself to…

You're driving through Washington, Oklahoma, a town with a unique origin story. The post office first opened in 1904, but the community really got its start thanks to a mixed-blood Choctaw-Chickasaw couple. Hiram and…

The deep red soil across central Oklahoma and northwest Texas comes from Permian-age rock formations — ancient seabeds laid down 250-280 million years ago. Iron minerals in the sediment oxidized over millennia,…

You're driving through Oklahoma, maybe near Maysville, and you're passing the legacy of Wiley Post, a true aviation pioneer. Did you know this Oklahoma hero spent time in reform school for armed robbery? After getting…

You're driving through Maysville, but did you know this town was once called Beef Creek? Back in 1871, this was a stop on the El Paso Stage Company line, likely used to fatten cattle before they were shipped to market.…

You're driving through Rosedale, a town that sprang up in April 1908 on land once owned by Rose Hopping. It was built to serve local farmers, with wooden houses and brick businesses like banks and general stores. Even…

You're driving south of Norman, and right here is Goldsby. This town incorporated on January 18, 1962, not to grow, but to stop Norman from annexing it! The namesake, Frank 'Walton' Goldsby, moved here in 1892 and later…

You're driving through Cleveland County, on Etowah Road, heading east of Noble. This place, Etowah, has a name borrowed from a Cherokee settlement in Georgia. It popped up after the 1889 Land Run, connecting Purcell and…

Right here, you're passing through Paoli, a town that got its name from a dispute! Rancher James Dulin owned this land, and he didn't want the new Santa Fe Railway stop named after him. So, railroad officials picked a…

Right here, in McClain County, you're passing through Cole. This little town started in 1912, named for Judge Preslie B. Cole, who had interests in the area. It popped up thanks to the Oklahoma Central Railway, and soon…

You're driving through southern Pottawatomie County, and right here is Tribbey. It all started in 1891 when Alpheus M. Tribbey staked a claim on land that would become this town. He even gave land to the railroad in…

This spot matters because it's the heart of the University of Oklahoma, founded even before Oklahoma was a state! Think about that for a second. In 1890, while this land was still Oklahoma Territory, the university was…

Norman, Oklahoma, a city carved from the plains in the Land Run of 1889, sits at just over a thousand feet above sea level. The rolling landscape is a reminder of the wide-open spaces that drew settlers here. It's a…

You are sitting in the part of the country that takes its weather seriously, so here is a piece of storm science with a name as strange as it sounds: the Fujiwhara effect. When two spinning storm systems, two cyclones,…

Here in Norman, Oklahoma, the National Weather Center has been hunting storms since 2006. Inside, scientists from the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the National Weather Service lean on a clever trick called the…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, researchers at the National Severe Storms Lab are trying to do something old-school forecasting could not: tell you which storm will turn dangerous, and when. The idea is called…

Out here near Norman, Oklahoma, home of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, scientists chase a stubborn question: plenty of storms spin, so why do so few drop a tornado? Lots of supercells rotate. Researchers…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, home of the Sooners! Right here, Barry Switzer took the reins as head coach in 1973 and built a dynasty. In his sixteen years, the Sooners won twelve Big Eight championships and…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, the heart of a college football empire! Right here, Bud Wilkinson took over the University of Oklahoma Sooners in 1947, a young coach at just thirty-one. What followed was…

You're driving through Norman, and right here is the birthplace of higher education in Oklahoma. David Ross Boyd, a dedicated educator, arrived in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1892</say-as> to found the…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of Jerrie Cobb, a true aviation pioneer! Born in 1931, she was flying by age twelve and earned her pilot's license at sixteen. By the 1950s, she was…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, you're driving past the home of Bart Conner, one of America's most decorated male gymnasts. Born in 1958, Conner discovered gymnastics young and rose through the ranks, becoming the…

Right here in Oklahoma, you're passing through the heart of a life dedicated to preserving our state's story. Edward Everett Dale, born in Texas in 1879, found his calling as Oklahoma's premier historian. He worked as a…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, home of Everette Lee DeGolyer, a man so brilliant he's called the father of American geophysics. He came here in 1901, graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and then headed…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, the birthplace of a true American entertainment legend: James Garner. Born James Scott Bumgarner in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1928</say-as>, he went from fighting in…

Right here, in Norman, you're driving past the University of Oklahoma, home to Prentice Gautt, the first Black athlete to play for the Sooners football squad. It was the fall of 1956, just two years after Brown v. Board…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, is where country music superstar Vince Gill got his start. Born April 12, 1957, Gill was already playing in a bluegrass band by age sixteen. He went on to join legendary groups like Pure…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, where you might just be passing the Jacobson Gallery. This place is named for Oscar Brousse Jacobson, a Swedish immigrant who became the father of modern art in Oklahoma.…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of a true golf legend: Betty Jameson. Born in 1919, she didn't just play golf, she conquered it. She won two U.S. Women's Amateurs and, in 1947, made…

You're driving through Norman, the birthplace of a man who literally reached for the stars – Karl Jansky. Born right here in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1905</say-as>, Jansky was working for Bell Labs, trying…

You're driving through Norman, home of the Oklahoma Sooners! Right here, Billy Ray Sims became a legend. In 1978, he burst onto the scene with 1,762 rushing yards and the Heisman Trophy, college football's top prize. He…

Right here in Norman, you're driving past the birthplace of a publishing powerhouse! Back in 1929, the University of Oklahoma Press opened its doors, and get this – it was the FIRST university press in the entire…

You're driving through Norman right now, home to the University of Oklahoma. But did you know that during the 1930s, a time of great hardship, OU's president, William B. Bizzell, secured crucial funding for the…

Right here in Norman, you're passing the historic location of the Norman Art Gallery, operated by photographer Emma Coleman from 1898 to 1918. In a time when women's roles were often confined to the home, Coleman carved…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, where for years, Nicholas Comfort was a lightning rod for controversy. As dean of the Oklahoma School of Religion from 1930 to 1947, he championed liberal causes like pacifism,…

Right here in Norman, you're passing the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, home to one of the most significant collections of French Impressionism ever given to an American public university. It all started in the 1920s…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, we're remembering Charles Newton Gould. He wasn't just a geologist; he was the architect of Oklahoma's understanding of its own earth. In 1908, he founded the Oklahoma…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, the home of a man once called 'a city feller with a hick name' – Joshua Bryan 'Josh' Lee. He wasn't just any politician; Lee was a national oratorical champion in college,…

You're driving past Norman right now, home to one of Oklahoma's most unique traditions: the Medieval Fair. Back in 1977, a group of University of Oklahoma graduate students decided to bring the Middle Ages to life on…

You're driving through Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma. Right here, in 1909, Julien Monnet arrived with a mission: to build Oklahoma's first law school. He was dismayed by the conditions, but saw potential.…

You're driving through Norman right now, and you might be passing the former stomping grounds of Margaret Morse Nice, a pioneering ornithologist. While she lived here from 1913 to 1928, she conducted groundbreaking…

Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving past the home of a national first! The Oklahoma Geological Survey is the only one of its kind in the entire country created by a state constitution. It was signed into law back in…

You're driving through Norman right now, and you're passing a place with a century-long story of near misses and ultimate triumph: the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. It started way back in 1899 at the…

Right here in Norman, you're driving through a place that was once home to one of America's leading ecologists, Paul B. Sears. From 1928 to 1938, he chaired the botany department at the University of Oklahoma. During…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, you're driving past the final resting place of George Miksch Sutton, a man whose passion for birds took flight from Nebraska and landed him as a renowned ornithologist and artist at the…

You're driving past Norman, home to a sculptor whose work is known nationwide. Joe Taylor, head of the University of Oklahoma's sculpture department from 1933 until his retirement, created powerful figurative pieces in…

Right here in Norman, you might have known Morris Tenenbaum as the University of Oklahoma football team's volunteer gatekeeper. For decades, he was a stubborn sentinel, guarding the dressing room, even turning away Red…

Right here in Norman, you're driving past the birthplace of a retail giant! In 1936, three Oklahoma store owners, Tomlinson, Gosselin, and Young, pooled their resources to open the very first T.G.&Y. store. They named…

You're driving through Norman, home to the University of Oklahoma. Did you know the first three presidents of OU were all forced out by political interference? The territorial legislature placed the university here in…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1970</say-as>, this town became a flashpoint for the anti-Vietnam War movement. Following President Nixon's Cambodia…

You're driving through Norman, a city that owes its name to a surveyor's camp. Back in the early 1870s, Abner E. Norman and his team camped right here, leaving their mark burned into a tree: 'Norman's Camp.' When the…

You're driving through Cleveland County, and right here, in Norman, Benjamin Albert Botkin was doing something pretty unique. From 1921 to 1939, he taught at the University of Oklahoma, but he wasn't just another…

Right here in Norman, you're driving past the birthplace of Harold's Stores! It all started in 1948, when Harold Powell opened his first shop right on West Boyd Street, aiming to dress up University of Oklahoma…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, a town that was home to a significant 20th-century composer, Michael Hennagin. From 1972 to 1991, Hennagin was the University of Oklahoma's composer-in-residence, creating music…

You're driving through Norman, and right here, you're passing the site of High Gate College. Established in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, it was a coeducational school with a strict moral code. Think $3…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, and right here is where William Cary Renfrow, a former Confederate soldier, built his fortune. After the Civil War, he moved to Arkansas, then landed in Norman in 1889. He opened…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, a place that once called Frances Falwell Threadgill a resident. While she spent her life advocating for women and children's rights, her connection to this town is tied to the…

You're driving through Norman right now, home to a literary institution that's been around since 1927. It started as 'Books Abroad,' a quarterly magazine founded by OU professor Roy Temple House. His mission? To combat…

Right here, near Norman, Oklahoma, was the birthplace of a national organization that changed the oil and gas industry forever. In 1915, a small group of geologists met in Norman and Oklahoma City to promote the science…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, where Winnie Branstetter made her stand for socialism and women's rights. Born in Missouri in 1879, she moved here in 1904 and quickly became a key organizer for the Oklahoma…

Right here in Norman, Oklahoma, you're driving past a piece of history! In 1929, Mary Jane Brown made a groundbreaking achievement, becoming the very first woman to earn a doctorate from the University of Oklahoma. Her…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, a place that was home to Arrell Morgan Gibson, a historian who dedicated his life to telling the story of the American West and Oklahoma itself. Born in Kansas in 1921, Gibson…

You're driving through Norman, Oklahoma, home to the University of Oklahoma Press. Right here, Savoie Lottinville, a Rhodes Scholar, took the helm of the press in 1938. For thirty years, he built it into an…

You're driving through Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma. Right here, for nearly forty years, taught Gustav Emil Mueller, an internationally renowned philosopher. Born in Switzerland in 1898, Mueller came to OU…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, the Oklahoma Climatological Survey is working to keep you informed about the weather. Established by the legislature in 1982, this University of Oklahoma research unit is…

You're driving through Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma, where Carl Coke Rister made a significant mark on regional history. Born in Texas, Rister became a prominent historian at OU, researching and writing…

You're driving through Cleveland County, near Norman, where Fletcher B. Swank spent much of his public life. He started out teaching school, then became a county superintendent, and even a judge. But his big moment came…

You're cruising through Norman right now, home to the University of Oklahoma and a treasure trove of Western history. Back in 1927, a quest began to collect materials on the American West, focusing on Oklahoma and the…

You're driving through western McClain County, near where the town of Dibble now sits. This area was once part of the Chickasaw Nation, and by 1869, a ranch operated by John and James Dibble was a key stopping point on…

Right here in Pottawatomie County, you're passing through Wanette, a town with roots stretching back to the 1800s. But what makes this place interesting? It was a known hangout for notorious outlaws! Imagine Belle Starr…

You're driving through McClain County, not far from Byars. Right here, in 1850, was the site of the most important Camp Arbuckle. It was built by Captain Randolph Marcy's Fifth Infantry to protect the California Road, a…

Right here, near Byars, Oklahoma, you're driving past a place where history was made on the trail west. In 1850, Captain Randolph Barnes Marcy established Camp Arbuckle, a crucial outpost for protecting emigrants…

You're driving through McClain County, and right here is Byars. This town owes its existence to a railroad and a local rancher's family. In 1903, railroad interests laid out this community on land donated by Nathan H.…

Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving through the heart of what used to be the 'Broomcorn Capital of the World'! Lindsay, Oklahoma, was at the center of a region that produced tens of thousands of acres of broomcorn.…

You're driving through Lindsay, Oklahoma, a town that owes its existence to railroads and a generous farmer. In January 1902, Lewis Lindsay donated 440 acres for a townsite, and the railroad companies linked their lines…

You're driving through western Pottawatomie County, and right here is the town of Pink. It popped up after the surrounding lands opened in 1891. The post office here was a bit of a yo-yo, opening in 1894, closing in…