Guthrie Historic District - Noble Park - Guthrie, OK - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

One of the properties which is part of the Guthrie Historic District is Noble Park. Located on the west side of Guthrie, this park is no longer accessible, as it is completely surrounded by Cottonwood Creek and any earlier bridges no longer exist. The area is heavily wooded, with the exception of one clearing near the north side where a pavilion building sits in ruins (visit link) The park was established in 1890, just after the Land Run which settled Guthrie. The park was constructed on a flood plain and Cottonwood Creek has continually flooded over the years, even to this time.

An area within the park known as The Elbow because of the meandering path of the Cottonwood was once occupied by Guthrie's black community during the days of segregation, but the area is no longer accessible. It was eventually condemned by the City of Guthrie.

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[Excerpt from a newspaper article on Black History in Guthrie (visit link) ]
"Nathan Turner, director of the Territorial Museum and Historic Carnegie Library, trekked into The Elbow in 2001. Nature already had reclaimed much of the community.

"It was wild," Turner recalled. "It was interesting. You could see the streets. Everything was grown over, and a lot of the buildings had fallen down. The park was still there with a swing set. It had a pavilion area. You could see where some homeless people had been there. It was eerie. It was like that show on A&E, ‘Life After People.' ... It was shut down in the mid-70s, so it's 30-some years of growth."

Fortunately, Guthrie has a long memory, and Turner's museum has extensive records of the city's past — white and black. Guthrie's future looks bright."
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Aerial photos of this area show the heavy foliage and the surrounding Cottonwood Creek. West Perkins Street which entered the area from the east appears to have had a bridge over the Cottonwood and that area is shown in the Gallery on an aerial photo.

Noble Park is an integral part of Guthrie's history and is listed on the District nomination on Page 42.

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Guthrie Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: West side of Guthrie bordered on North by Noble Avenue Guthrie, OK How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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