THE ARCHIVIST
for The Oklahoman
Today’s visitor to Edmond can visit the first public school house in the Oklahoma Territory, which is at 124 E. Second Street. Built in 1889, in the summer after the Run, it served Edmond students for 10 years, then was sold, remodeled and forgotten until its restoration for the state’s centennial in 2007.
Twenty-four years after the school was sold, an article in The Oklahoman on Nov. 25, 1923, told how maple from the school desks and walnut from the downtown sidewalks were used to create a special clock.
It’s only a wooden grandfather clock — but there’s history in every splinter. And what tales each bit of hand carved wood could tell! Instead it slowly ticks off the seconds, its hand mutely pointing to the time of day, content to let its historical secrets lie dormant.
The clock stands in the office of the Wahl Klein Real Estate company who purchased it last year from the brother of its maker, Frank P. Shepard. In order that the historical object might not be taken from the state of Oklahoma.
Frank P. Shepard, who died in Oklahoma City last year, was an inventive genius and for many years a patent attorney in this city. For twelve years he devoted spare moments in the making of this grandfather clock, which stands seven feet high, from wood taken from desks of the first school house in Edmond and the first sidewalks of that city. This school house, which was completed in 1889, is said to be the first school house in the state.
The entire clock is made of wood, with the exception of a few screws which hold some of the sections together. All the wheels and the cogs are carefully carved from wood and the cogs set in with painstaking care.
Most of the material is of native walnut. Shepard used a knife and a scroll saw for most of the work. His adjustments were so accurate that the clock is still keeping good time. It is operated by weights, so arranged that should the cord by which they are suspended break, the weights will not fall but automatically catch and hold in place until repairs are made.
The works are all visible. In addition to the hour and minute hands, a small second hand and dial is included. The circle in the clock which holds the numerals is an old bicycle rim.
The clock shows the most careful workmanship throughout.
After the death of Shepard last year, his brother, Luman L. Shepard, who now lives in Chicago, decided to have the clock sent to him there. L. G. Wahl and L. L. Klein, in whose office the clock was left until it could be shipped, decided that so historical an object should not leave the state, and purchased it.
The school house from which part of the wood was taken was built by the First Ladies Aid Society of Edmond in 1889. Miss Ollie McCormick was the teacher.
The 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse stands as a monument to those first residents who recognized the importance of education and to the dedication of the members of the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust to preserve Edmond’s history.L. L. Klein died in 1929 and L. G. Wahl died in 1942. What became of the clock is not known.
If you would like to contact Mary Phillips about The Archivist, email her at gapnmary@gmail.com