Category Archives: Distinguished Residents

Jesse Chisholm’s Death, the Chisholm Trail, Highway 81, the Crossroads of the Continent, and the Rock Island Railroad in El Reno

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By Brian Rukes, El Reno Historian

March 4, 1868 marks the date Jesse Chisholm passed away, the man for whom the famous Chisholm Trail was named.

Chisholm was a trader, scout, and trailblazer who could speak multiple native languages. He died, reportedly due to food poisoning, on this day in 1868 just north of the border of Canadian County in Blaine County, northeast of the city of Geary, OK. He is buried at that location, with a marker nearby. Here’s a link: https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.3935

The Chisholm Trail was one of the first major routes through this part of the country, and it is regarded almost universally as the most important cattle trail in U.S. history. Later, U.S. Highway 81 would run very close to the route of the Chisholm Trail, contributing to why Highway 81 is such a major road (and a significant part of the reason why the City of El Reno has trademarked “Crossroads of the Continent” for itself). The 98th Meridian that it runs along is also highly significant for several other reasons that I will share later, Lord willing.

Chisholm established much of the trail around 1864 as a wagon route, part of his trading activities in the territory. The route became the world’s most famous cattle trail following the 1867 establishment of Abilene, Kansas, as a stockyards with access to the railroads to help supply the much-wanted beef in the United States’ growing economy. This came, of course, on the heels of the Civil War, which had ended in 1865. Chisholm died in 1868, but he reportedly never drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail. Nevertheless, the trail was named in his honor and continued under heavy operation until around 1885, when an extension of the railroad (the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe) essentially supplanted the trail when the railway was completed from the north down to the town of Purcell, Oklahoma. (The scene from the 1946 movie The Harvey Girls in which Judy Garland performs the song “On the Athison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” captures the excitement and the great mobility that the railroads provided at that time. Remember, we didn’t have Interstate Highways or even Route 66 back then! You can see the movie scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgrOvMLWsY

El Reno would have the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway reach it in 1890, one year after the “Run of ’89” (the first land run) and El Reno’s establishment, further contributing to the significance of El Reno as the “Crossroads of the Continent.” El Reno would become a MAJOR railroad town, serving as the headquarters / hub of the Southern Division of the CRI&P / Rock Island Railroad. El Reno was even prominently featured in the 1954 Glenn Ford movie “Human Desire” (which originally had the working title “End of the Line”) because it was such an important railroad town.

That building that was recently razed (demolished) by the railroad tracks near the Canadian County Historical Museum wasn’t JUST an old, abandoned dilapidated apartment building. It originally was the main offices for the Rock Island Railroad here in town. Sadly, the dilapidated condition of that privately owned building led to its ultimate demolition. MANY people came to El Reno to live, work, and even visit through the decades because of the railroad, with so many people working for “The Rock” (as it was also called).

Also attached is a VERY detailed map of the Chisholm Trail through Oklahoma (including El Reno), as found at: https://www.okhistory.org/images/enc/HISMAP.0003.jpg

You can also read more about the history of the Chisholm Trail on that website, at https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH045

What amazing history we have here in El Reno! We have FAR more than just Route 66 and fried onion burgers and tornadoes to offer here at the “Crossroads of the Continent” ™.

Also of significance on this date in history, two of the most influential Presidents in U.S. history were inaugurated on this day–Abraham Lincoln, in 1861, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1933. Both have interesting connections to El Reno that we’ve shared in the past.

Additional CAPTIONS / Credits:
1st Image: Picture of Jesse Chisholm from: https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CH067 (1757, W. P. Campbell Collection, OHS).

Miss Etta Dorothea Dale

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By Brian Rukes ERPS Historian

What were some of the major accomplishments of the person for whom Etta Dale Junior High is named to honor?

Miss Etta Dorothea Dale was a longtime educator in El Reno Public Schools with many, many accomplishments. She taught in the ERPS system for 51 consecutive years, also notably serving as the first principal of Central School from the time it was built (in 1905) until she completed her 50th year with ERPS in May 1942. She returned for her final year of service, this time at El Reno High School, teaching Oklahoma history in the 1942-1943 term. Before serving in the ERPS system, she had previously taught two years in Banner School, close to where her family had moved from Missouri in the “Run of ’89.”

Etta Dale’s list of accomplishments and honors is actually quite astounding. She was several times listed among the “Who’s Who in Oklahoma” and “Who’s Who in America.” In 1926, she was personally awarded a distinguished service award by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House in Washington, D.C. In 1931, she received another distinguished service award, this time by the Oklahoma Education Association, which also awarded her a lifetime membership in the association. Then, in 1935, Etta Dale was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

On October 4, 1937, El Reno’s newly-built Etta Dale Junior High was formally dedicated and named in her honor. It is believed to be the only building in the entire nation which was built as part of the Public Works Administration (or PWA, one of the alphabet soup programs of FDR’s New Deal) to be named to honor a living person; in fact, special permission had to be obtained for it to be so named. (Note that the Walter P. Marsh Memorial Building and Lucus Memorial Hall were not constructed at the same time; they were added in 1957 and 1967, respectively.)

May 28, 1942 marked Miss Etta Dale’s Golden 50th anniversary of her service in El Reno Public Schools. The day was declared “Etta Dale Day” in the City of El Reno, and The El Reno Daily Tribune dedicated that day’s entire issue in her honor. The ERPS School Board also formally recognized her as “El Reno’s All-Time Most Useful and Valuable Citizen.”

Following her death on November 2, 1944, at age 72, El Reno once again paid its greatest respects to this tremendous woman. Her funeral was held at Etta Dale Junior High, where her body was laid in state. All the flags at all El Reno Public Schools buildings were flown at half-staff that day in her honor. Moreover, businesses in El Reno closed for the funeral and the schools closed early that day so that the students and staff could attend the funeral services. Her body was interred at the El Reno Cemetery.

Further resources:
https://www.elrenops.org/…/history-of-etta-dale-jr-high
https://oklahomahof.com/member-archives/d/dale-etta-d-1935