December 19, 2010
Magazine names Enid in its list of 10 towns to watch in coming years
Enid News and Eagle
The Enid News and Eagle
Sun Dec 19, 2010, 11:20 PM CST
ENID —
True West magazine thinks Enid is pretty special.
The magazine’s January-February edition listed Enid in its “Towns to Watch” list due to the opening of Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. The museum is a five-year, $9.8 million effort that more than doubles the size of the and capabilities of the previous museum, featuring additional room for research and exhibit space.
The only items remaining from the original museum are the original 1893 Oklahoma Land Rush office, an early 1900’s church and school and a refurbished Victorian home.
True West predicts the museum will be a landmark in northwestern Oklahoma.
“I would like to think the recognition is because of the emphasis on being a heritage center and the mission to tell the story of the settlement of the Cherokee Strip and to share the lessons of leadership from that story to future generations,” said Lew Ward, a board member and drive chairman for the heritage center project.
The building is completed and the exhibits are about 60 percent complete. Ward said some cases still have not yet been delivered, although all are paid for. Once they arrive, the staff must put the exhibits together and place them into the cases.
“The success we had in telling the story, 60 percent of our money was raised in small lots in Enid,” Ward said. “We started with an $8 million goal and ended with a $9.8 million goal.”
Ward said the heritage center is an outstanding project because of the support of the community.
“The town is on a roll because of all the things the private sector of the economy has done, like David Allen Memorial Ballpark and Leonardo’s and raising the money to expand the YMCA and the symphony center,” he said. “Now we have a $100 million bond issue to revamp the school system, so we can brag about having the best school system in the state.”
True West listed Enid alongside towns such as Yuma, Ariz.; Mescalero, N.M.; Dodge City, Kan.; and Virginia City, Nev.
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