
Angie Debo House - Marshall, OK
Posted by:
hamquilter
N 36° 09.307 W 097° 37.389
14S E 623852 N 4002031
Home of the "First Lady of Oklahoma History"
Waymark Code: WM9MNK
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 09/05/2010
Views: 3
This house at 200 Oklahoma Avenue in Marshall, OK is a one-story frame dwelling, typical of those built in the 1920s and 1930s. The home is shown as Vacant on the NRHP listing (#96000379), however, we found it to be occupied. There is no marker at the home indicating its historical significance, however, the website listed below has a photo of the home to validate its authenticity.
Marshall is a town of about 300 people, in far northwestern Logan County, just off State Highway 74. The town is slowly deteriorating, with little commercial activity, many vacant buildings, and an abandoned railroad line.
Angie Debo was born in Beattie, KS on January 3, 1890. Her family moved by covered wagon to Marshall, Oklahoma Territory in 1899. She kept her residence in Marshall from that day forward. The home located at 200 Oklahoma Avenue in Marshall was her home throughout much of her life, and was her residence at the time of her death.
In this new Territorial town, Angie had to wait until the town had a high school before she could graduate at age 23, but in the meantime she received her teaching certificate at 16 and taught in nearby rural schools.
She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1918, got her master’s from the University of Chicago in 1924. As a History major, she concentrated on learning and writing about American Indian history, especially as it was affected by the Government. Her dissertation for her doctorate centered on a history of the Choctaw Nation, written from the prospective of the Choctaw people. This had not been done before and brought her much acclaim.
Much of her writing was controversial because she wrote of the interaction between the U.S. government and the Indian nations. She even faced libel suits from Oklahoma businesspeople and politicians. Some of her well known and important books were “And Still the Waters Run” (1940), “The Road to Disappearance: A History of the Creek Indians” (1941) and “Geronimo” (1976).
During the late 1930s and early 1940s she worked on several WPA jobs, researching and writing about Oklahoma and the Indian Nations. In 1985, she became the first woman to have her portrait hang in the Rotunda of the Oklahoma State Capitol. In 1988, at the age of 98, she received the Award for Scholarly Distinction from the American Historical Association. She died on February 21, 1988 and is buried in the IOOF Cemetery outside of Marshall, OK.
[Source of information - Oklahoma Historical Society]
Street address: 200 Oklahoma Avenue Marshall, OK USA 73056
 County / Borough / Parish: Logan County
 Year listed: 1996
 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person
 Periods of significance: 1925-1949
 Historic function: Domestic
 Current function: Vacant/Not in Use
 Privately owned?: yes
 Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
 Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
 Season start / Season finish: Not listed
 Hours of operation: Not listed
 Secondary Website 2: Not listed
 National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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