Find hitching rings, brick bathrooms in Chandler

By Christian Price, News9.com INsite Team

CHANDLER, Okla. - -Land runs, outlaws and movie stars are all part of Chandler's past and the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer is there to share that history.

The building that houses the museum is one of the oldest in town. Sally Ferrell has worked within the walls of the Mascho building as a volunteer for the last 25 years.

"We have in the back of this building, is probably Oklahoma's only left urban brick outhouse," Ferrell said. "Up front, we have the hitching rings, the iron rings in the sidewalk that are to tie your horses to. Keep that in mind that you can always tie your horse up on Main Street in Chandler with original hitching rings."

The museum itself has grown in its effort to preserve the past.

"Now it's expanded into four downtown buildings, two stories," Ferrell said. "Three are on the national register of historic places, and it's got a wonderful collection of our history."

The artifacts that are on display range from one of a kind to dentist equipment.

"We have an incredible amount of artifacts from clothing to surveyor's items before the land run," Ferrell said. "That printing press is supposed to be one of the one's that printed some of the boomer leaflets before the first land run in 1889."

One exhibit is dedicated to Chandler's own silent movie creator.

"We're the home of this wonderful early cinematographer Benny Kent, who traveled all over Oklahoma," Ferrell said. "He was very famous for taking probably the first news reels in Oklahoma and he made this silent movie. You can come and see ‘The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaw'."

The museum is located at 717 Manvel Avenue in Chandler, which is also Route 66. It's open from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

For more information, call (405) 258 2425.