Seniors Discover Historic Guthrie

Guthrie is a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex with a population of just over 10,000. Guthrie is loaded with attractions and will keep senior visitors busy for several days.

Guthrie is a city where heritage and recreation join up together and attract tourists from all across the nation. Born of the land run in 1889 and still dressed in the Victorian architecture of the 1900′s, today Guthrie stands as a national historic landmark.

When it comes to celebrating the centennial, Guthrie doesn’t miss a beat. The first university of Oklahoma was located in Guthrie in 1892, it operated as such for two years.

Seniors Find A National Historic Landmark

Guthrie was the territorial and first state capital of Oklahoma. The city is nationally significant because of its collection of late 19th and early 20th century commercial architecture.

The Guthrie Historic District is designated a National Historic Landmark and by now senior readers know how much yours truly  appreciates and promotes national historic landmarks.

Victorian architecture in the city provides a backdrop for Wild West and territorial-style entertainment, carriage tours, replica trolley cars, specialty shops, and art galleries galore.

Guthrie originated in 1887 as a railroad station called Deer Creek on the Southern Kansas Railway (later acquired by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) from the Kansas–Oklahoma border to Purcell. The name was later changed to Guthrie, named for jurist John Guthrie of Topeka, Kansas.

Set your visit to coincide with some of the many festivals and special events that take place in Guthrie each year and if you enjoy a rodeo, take in the National Finals Steer Roping Rodeo. The Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival, which draws 15,000 visitors annually, takes place the first weekend in October as does the Guthrie Art & Wine Festival.

 Seniors Discover A Historical Tourism Destination

Historical tourism has become a significant industry for the town as Guthrie is the largest urban Historic district in Oklahoma, containing 2,169 buildings, 1,400 acres and 400 city blocks. As Oklahoma’s territorial capital, Guthrie’s ongoing restoration efforts make the town’s downtown area the largest Historic Preservation District in the nation.

Guthrie is said to be the “Bed and Breakfast capital of Oklahoma” that includes the historic Seely House B&B where my wife and I would enjoy an evening stay.

And there are the southern colonial style houses in Guthrie with gingerbread detailing, a downtown with fascinating history, one-of-a-kind stores and a dozen distinctive B&Bs housed in historic Victorian-era buildings.

Senior visitors discover the diverse collections of Guthrie’s museums, including the famed Oklahoma Territorial Museum, the Edmond Historical Society Museum, the State Capital Publishing Museum, the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum and the Oklahoma Frontier Drugstore.

 Check out the upcoming events and enjoy Guthrie as so many senior visitors do.  -jeb