Post Office and Court House - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

According to official records, the townsite now known as Ponca City established its first Post Office in January 1894. This was four months after the Land Run and three months after the rival site of Cross started to receive mail. Cross was located a few miles northwest of Ponca and the Santa Fe Railroad also stopped at Cross but not Ponca. This was almost more than the citizens of Ponca could bear. The citizens and merchants organized and boycotted Cross, preferring to pay 10 cents a day for someone to pick up the mail for them.

Ponca's early Post Offices were located in a variety of downtown locations, including a combination undertaker and furniture store. In 1920 the Moose Building at 111-113 North 3rd Street was completed and the Post Office leased the first floor for 13 years.

Lobbying efforts to build a permanent Post Office and federal building in Ponca began in 1919. By 1925 the Chamber of Commerce and local businessmen, including influential oilman Lew Wentz, were behind the project. A long process of governmental appropriations and negotiations took place over the next seven years, including a much anticipated decision to add a second story to house federal court.

In 1930 John Duncan Forsyth and Donald McCormick were chosen as architects for the Post Office. They also worked together on two Tulsa projects, the Southern Hills Country Club and the residence of oilman Otis McClintock. Forsyth is best known locally for designing the second Marland Mansion.

When construction finally got under way, it was a big boost to the local economy. Native stone from the Marland quarries was used on the exterior and the weekly payroll was calculated at $2000. Total cost of the building was $200,000 with an additional $50,000 being paid for the lot.

As with many projects, this one also had its moments. A cornerstone laying ceremony was scheduled for May 1933. The stone was set in place and covered until the official ceremony. The stone contained the names of the Secretary of Treasury and the Assistant Secretary, who were Republicans. However, the ceremony was postponed and on June 1st notice was received not to lay the cornerstone because a new stone bearing the names of the incoming Democratic officials was being considered. On Nov.28 the old stone was removed, even though the new stone was lost in transit and the cornerstone laying ceremony was just a few days away. The controversy prompted the Ponca City News to report, "Cornerstones should be on a pivot, then on one side could be the democratic inscription and on the other the republican; it could be turned frontward according to which administration happens to be in."

The Post Office finally opened for business on March 14, 1934. In 1967 the building underwent a $637,000 expansion to the east.

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