Canute Town & Country Centennial. June 29 2002
The text on the pink polished granite marker reads:
"CANUTE CENTENNIAL / 1902 - 2002 /
Town Chartered July 2 1902 - Canute established Oklahoma territory /Canute City Lots sold by lottery for $10 per lot/horses rode into town
1902 - 1st State Bank receives charter.
1904 - Water well dug in in middle of main street with windmill for
1904 - Rural mail delivery started.
1905 - Big Wolf hunt South of Canute, Okla territory.
1907 - Railroad & depot came to town.
1907 - November 16th . Oklahoma becomes a State.
1908 - Canute consolidated school district #1 started.
1917 - First Oil & Gas well drilled in area.
1924 - Electrification comes to town
1925 - First phone lines in town.
1926-28 - Holy family Catholic church school, rectory, & Convent built
1928 - Grotto/Crucifixion built.
1929 - Great depression starts.
1931 - US 66 opened through Canute to Texas line.
1936 - City Park 1st Okla. State park built on Route 66,
Apr 7 1938 - Snowstorm of the Century filled in old 66 RR underpass west side of town stopped RT 66 traffic foe 10 days.
Aug 14 1945 - Bells rang when Japan surrendered.
1955 to 1958 - serious dry spell & drought for Farmers.
1962 - Canute public water & sewer system installed.
1964 - Volunteer fire department officially started.
1967 - I-40 Bypasses Town.
1979 - Farm land prices hit record highs.
1970-80's Oil Boom - 1980's Oil bust.
1984 - New modern school gymnasium built in Canute.
1990-94 - Native of Canute David Walters elected Governor of Oklahoma
1994 - Heritage Center purchase/ renovation ( Old Holy Family Church)
1992-2000 - Randy Beutler State representative.
1992- to present - Jack Bonny State representative.
1997 - Girls Basketball State champs.
1997 - Internet access first available.
2001 - Space port authority formed for the area.
2002 - Major ice storm shuts down electricity for 5 days.
Manufactured by Willis Granite Products Granite, Oklahoma.
Text on back of Marker:
This 100 year marker is dedicated to all those people that have contributed in many ways to Canute and the area over the last 100 years.
At one time and over the years Canute had three cotton gins, and elevator, feed lot, barber and beauty shops, three grocery stores, drug stores and dry goods, dance hall and movie theatre, laundry and dry cleaning plant, doctor's office, livery stable, blacksmith shop, telephone office, post office, pool hall, lumber yard, meat locker, dress shop, several cafes and beer joints, motels, farm equipment and supply, several oil field related businesses, bank, liquor store and 4 churches."
"Canute was established in the early 1900s and located on the now-defunct Rock Island Railroad. Following the advent of the automobile, Canute became a popular stop along U.S. Route 66 and a large number of tourist businesses including gasoline service stations, motels and restaurants. However, when Interstate 40 bypassed the small village to the north in May, 1970 and received only one exit from the freeway, the local economy went into a decline due to the bypass and the concurrent closure of nearby Clinton-Sherman Air Force base at Burns Flat, leading most of those businesses to shut down. Today, Canute businesses include a bank and auto repair shop on Route 66, a strip bar, along with a gas station/convenience store and a motel at the I-40 interchange." text Sources: (
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