As territorial governor, T.B. Ferguson was tasked with a report to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior each year. The following are excerpts submitted for the year ending June 30, 1903, filed from Guthrie.
The Territory of Oklahoma has an area of 38,830 square miles, is subdivided into 26 counties, and has an aggregate population of 650,000. She has 178,964 school children and 2,192 district schoolhouses valued at $,346,257; also seven higher institutions of learning, having a total enrollment of 2,818 last year; a school fund arising from the leasing of school land amounting to $181,828.88, which was apportioned during the year.
Oklahoma leads in railway building, having competed over 1,000 miles of new railroad, and on March 1 had over 2,500 miles of main track and grade completed. The assessed value of the eight lines of railway is $,851,187. The Territorial tax levy was 6¼ mills and assessed value of taxable property was $84,134,472, as return by the assessors which was on a basis of about one fourth actual value. The Territorial indebtedness is only $461,766.43. There were 7,451,918 acres of land returned for taxation.
Oklahoma has 232 Territorial banks having a combined capitalization of $2,026,330, with deposits of over $7,00,000, and an average reserve of 52%, being nearly four time the legal requirement. There are 79 national banks having a combined capitalization of $2,792,500; the deposits therein are over $10,000,000, and they have an average reserve of 30 per cent.
There are 193 licensed dentist, 403 registered pharmacists, and 1,200 practicing physicians. Oklahoma has 326 prisoners kept under correct on the Kansas Penitentiary, at a cost to the Territory of $45,724.62. https://digitalprairie.ok. gov/digital/collection/territorial/ id/1368