Reconnaissance Level Survey of Portions of Three Northeast Oklahoma Towns

Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University; Bays, Brad

Abstract: "A Reconnaissance Level Survey of Three Northeast Oklahoma Towns (Bristow, Broken Arrow, and Sand Springs) was conducted during the 1998-99 fiscal year under contract from the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Dr. Brad A. Bays of the Oklahoma State University Department of Geography was the Principal Investigator for the survey. Misty J Claypole, an M. S. candidate in Geography at Oklahoma State University, served as a Graduate Research Assistant on the project. The survey involved a study area encompassing approximately five square miles in the three northeast Oklahoma towns of Bristow (Creek County), Broken Arrow (Tulsa County), and Sand Springs (Tulsa County) as specified by the survey and planning subgrant stipulations prepared by the SHPO. The survey resulted in the minimal level documentation of 129 properties within the designated study area. Minimal level documentation included the completion of the Historic Preservation Resource Identification Form and at least two elevation photographs for each property. This document reports the findings of the survey and provides an analysis of these findings to guide the SHPO's long term preservation planning process. This report is organized into several parts. A narrative historic context of the study areas from their dates of town settlement and platting to the mid-twentieth century is provided as a general basis for interpreting and evaluating the survey results. An annotated bibliography demonstrates the breadth of historical investigation achieved by the survey personnel and provides direction for further research into specific events, processes, and personalities associated with the properties and areas analyzed by this survey. Maps are included to provide spatial reference to the survey results and justification of areal classification. A description of the survey research design and methodology explains the scope, objectives, and limitations of this reconnaissance level survey. The Results section of this report provides an evaluation of the empirical patterns of the data collected in this reconnaissance level survey. The patterns and characteristics of extant properties found in the survey process are discussed in detail. Individual properties and potential historic districts that meet age and integrity criteria for listing on the National Register of Historic Places are identified, as are those individual properties and areas warranting further study to determine National Register eligibility. The Results section also makes explicit those portions of the study area that do not warrant further study because they do not meet National Register eligibility criteria. Specific areas potentially eligible as districts, warranting further study, and not warranting further study are discussed in thumbnail sketches. An evaluation of the architectural significance of the individual properties and potential historic districts is provided by Professor Jeffrey K. Williams, AIA of the Oklahoma State University School of Architecture." Funding was provided in part by a 1998 Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 40-98-13140, project number OK-98-014) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Reconnaissance Level Survey of Portions of Three Northeast Oklahoma Towns

Collections