The First Newspaper - Oklahoma Territory - Guthrie, OK - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

On April 18, 1889, Frank H. Greer, a newspaperman from Kansas arrived in Guthrie during the Land Run. He immediately set up his newspaper, the Daily State Capital, in a tent. Soon it was necessary to move his operations to a building, and he did so, in a building which stood at this location until a fire destroyed it in 1902. That same year, the current building was constructed and became the headquarters for his newspaper. Offices were on the first, second and thirds floors, with a full pressroom in the basement. The first linotype machinery in the Territory was used here.

On the east side of this building stands an historical marker telling the story of his adventures. The marker reads:

"Oklahoma Daily State Capital / Built in 1902 by Frank Hilton Greer, this building housed the first newspaper in Oklahoma Territory and the largest printing plant west of the Mississippi. / The paper actually began in Kansas before the Run and came to Guthrie with the opening. It soon outgrew its tent. A wooden structure, soon replaced by brick, was erected on this lot. After a fire Easter Sunday, 1902, this building was erected with help of popular subscriptions in the amount of $50,000. / Greer developed a politically powerful newspaper with the largest circulation in the Territory aided by installation of the first linotype in Oklahoma. He embarked uponn a campaign of scathing criticism of Governor Haskell, first state governor. Haskell was enraged, threatening to "see grass grow in the streets of Guthrie" if Greer were not silenced. Greer would not be budged and, largely through Haskell's efforts, the 1910 referendum moved the capital to Oklahoma City. / As a bicuentennial project, the building was given in 1975 to the Oklahoma Historical Society for a printing museum. The building is a Joseph Foucart design and is a National Register site. On February 17, 1972, the Oklahoma Press Association officially endorsed the Printing Museum as a project. Presented by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation 1980" This building is currently operating as the State Capital Publishing Museum and is open Thurs-Sat from 9-5.

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