The Ferguson Home Museum had several visitors on Saturday. Two men who are the great-grandsons of the Cordell family that owned the home after purchasing it from the Ferguson estate. One of the men was a retired Navy officer living in New Hampshire now. There were also six cousins that were having a family gettogether from Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Their family was from the Geary/Greenfield area.
There was a time when County Treasurer Dillon heard there was a plan to rob him. His safe wasn’t burglar proof so he came up with the idea to have some of his friends hold some of the money for him for safe keeping. He asked Mr. Ferguson to hold several thousand dollars thinking a bank robber wouldn’t think about money being in a newspaper office. They kept a Winchester rifle in the print office in those days and Mr. Ferguson wouldn’t have hesitated to use it if necessary. The U.S. Marshal, with the help of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, located the outlaws before the robbery took place and attacked them somewhere along Salt Creek. Some of the A.H.T.A. men were wounded. During the raid, Jim Black was killed near Longdale and the Yeager gang was driven into the hills north of town. This story was from Mrs. Ferguson’s book, They Carried the Torch.
The museum is in need of a site director; it’s 20 hours per week. You will be giving tours as well as helping plan programs and events. The director must be able to go up and down the stairs and have basic computer skills.
Hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Since the museum is short staffed right now, these times may vary. Closed city and state holidays. Please call before coming to make sure it is open. Call at 580623-5069 to make arrangements for an after-hours tour.