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2011 Oklahoma's Most Endangered Historic Places
Another new entry for the 2011 list is the Midland Valley Office Building in Muskogee. Muskogee was home to the first Oklahoma station of the Midland Valley Railroad, an early and significant contributor to the Oklahoma oil industry, although the Muskogee line initially involved transportation of coal from Ft. Smith, Arkansas to Wichita, Kansas. This line was chartered in 1903, completed in 1906, and achieved its greatest success with construction of a spur from Muskogee to Jenks to capitalize on the Glen Pool oil deposit. The Midland Valley Railroad peaked as a passenger line in the 1920s but began to decline in the 1930s due to competition from better-established lines and the effects of the Great Depression. The Muskogee Company acquired outright ownership of the line in 1930 and transferred to the Texas and Pacific Railroad (a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad) in 1967.
In 1998, the city of Muskogee purchased the old Midland Valley Depot, a Mission-style structure built in 1917, and restored it for the purpose of housing the Three Rivers Museum, which celebrates the history and development of the Three Rivers region; however, the office building remains empty. A recent purchase by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (already known to be a good steward to historic buildings, as in the case of their headquarters in the Frisco Freight Depot), holds out hope for this building that orders from the city that it be demolished as a dilapidated structure will not come to pass.
In 1998, the city of Muskogee purchased the old Midland Valley Depot, a Mission-style structure built in 1917, and restored it for the purpose of housing the Three Rivers Museum, which celebrates the history and development of the Three Rivers region; however, the office building remains empty. A recent purchase by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (already known to be a good steward to historic buildings, as in the case of their headquarters in the Frisco Freight Depot), holds out hope for this building that orders from the city that it be demolished as a dilapidated structure will not come to pass.
Midland Valley Office Building
Muskogee, Muskogee County
Muskogee, Muskogee County
