Oklahoma Facts and Trivia
1. A life-size statue stands in honor of Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford in Weatherford.
2. Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.
3. Choctaw is the oldest chartered town in Oklahoma. Choctaw gained status as a town in 1893.
4. Okmulgee owns the world record for largest pecan pie, pecan cookie, pecan brownie, and biggest ice cream and cookie party. Each June, Okmulgee rolls out the welcome mat to thousands of its closest friends as the annual Pecan Festival comes to town.
5. The National Cowboy Hall of Fame is located in Oklahoma City.
6. The town of Beaver claims to be the Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World. It is here that the World Championship Cow Chip Throw is held each April.
7. An Oklahoman, Sylvan Goldman, invented the first shopping cart.
8. Known as the Antique Capital of Oklahoma, Jenks is home to the state’s best variety of: Antique Stores, Gift Shops, Galleries, Museums, Crafters Malls, and Collectible Retailers.
9. The first capital of Oklahoma was in Guthrie, but was moved later to Oklahoma City following a vote of the people.
10. Originally Indian Territory, the state of Oklahoma was opened to settlers in a “Land Rush” in 1889. On a given date, prospective settlers would be allowed into the territory to claim plots of land by grabbing the stakes marking each plot. A few of these settlers entered to claim land before the official start of the land run; these cheaters were called “Sooners”.
11. Tahlequah, Oklahoma is the Tribal capital of the Cherokee Nation.
12. Located on the south shores of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees between Langley and Disney. The Pensacola Dam was built in 1940 and is still the World’s Longest Multiple Arch Dam. Length of dam/spillway … 6,565 feet. Length of multiple-arch section … 4,284 feet. Pensacola Dam was the first hydroelectric facility in Oklahoma.