"Always Remember"
Photographs from the Elbow - Guthrie, Oklahoma
Shortly after the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, a group of black settlers laid claim to a swath of island bottomland formed by a split in the main course of Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of the Cimarron River running along the western edge of the newly formed city of Guthrie. Called the Elbow, the neighborhood thrived and survived for nearly a century, until incessant flooding (and the end of official segregation) saw its residents relocated elsewhere, their homes, churches, and businesses abandoned — all since overtaken by the elements, and other, stranger depredations.
The Holy Name is there amidst the evil.
Noble Park a.k.a. The Elbow was a federal park reservation. Protected land illegally sold to the City of Guthrie by the Land Office. Moved around and subjected to taxes and relinquishments. The settlers were dispossessed of their land. It was never abandoned. It is the forgotten community of my ancestors.