Friday, April 3, 2015

Harn Homestead, Oklahoma City

The Harn Homestead is a hands on museum that celebrates the territorial farm family in Oklahoma history.  It is located in the middle of Oklahoma City, not far from the state capitol building and provides visitors with a glimpse into farm life after the historic Land Rush of 1889.  I love touring old houses, so I was excited to visit this museum and it was a beautiful day to walk the grounds.

The property has on it several buildings that were either original to the farm or moved here for preservation. The main house. a Queen Anne style Victorian, was actually a precursor to the Sears and Roebuck homes that were sold out of a catalog.  The story goes that Mrs. Harn, originally from Ohio, hated living in Oklahoma and, in an attempt to appease her, in 1904, Mr. Harn ordered the home from the National Builders Supplement catalog and had it built in 6 weeks.  Apparently, his plan worked, as both Mr. and Mrs. Harn lived the rest of their lives in the home.

Harn Homestead House
The Harn House

The grounds

The outhouse, an essential component!

The Sheppard house - first two story house in Oklahoma Territory and first with an indoor staircase.  Not to mention, they raised 8 children in this house!
Neal Family Log Cabin

Root Cellar behind main house

Event barn - a recreation, but accurate as far as the well inside the barn goes

Schoolhouse

Interior of schoolhouse

Now the homestead hosts hundreds of school children, who get a hands-on experience in milking cows, make rope and various other activities.  While the actual property was a 160 acre homestead, only about 9 acres remain.  Mr. Harn donated 40 acres for the building of the state capitol and the remaining acreage was consumed along the way by urban sprawl.

We had done two major museums in one day and were exhausted.  Decided to eat dinner out that night and found the Santa Fe Cattle Company.
Exterior

Claim to fame?  Unfortunately, not so clean
Who comes to a steak house to eat Mexican?  My husband, apparently!  He said it was really good, though.

Until next time...



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