The McGranahan Barn, Rebuilding History

The house and once barn located on top of the hill was home to our ancestors James and Sarah McGranahan. The couple came to Oklahoma territory 21 years prior to the run of 1889. James worked in the government service just after the close of the Civil War. James drove a mule team with Custer and Sheridan in their winter campaigns. James later went on to serve as the “pre-opening” postmaster of Oklahoma Station, now Oklahoma City. James held the title of postmaster from the fall of 1888 until 10 am the day of the run in '89. The McGranahan's are also credited for operating the first hotel “Arbeka Hotel“, in what is now known as Oklahoma City. James and his wife Sarah, moved to this site and built their home and barn in 1895. The couple resided on the land until James’s death in 1939, at the age of 93 and Sarah’s death in 1940, at the age of 78. The land that our ancestors once occupied is at the intersection of highways 3 and 4, or better known as N.W. Expressway and Piedmont Road. The land has been virtually untouched and still contains my ancestors original home and now an exact replica of their barn. In fact, the land itself has just recently been added to the State and Federal register of historic places, as a documented crossing of the Chisholm trial. There are even preserved buffalo wallows from yesteryear, that remain sacred ground to our family.

Ancestors of the McGranahan’s still live and farm the land. The land and home has remained in the family for 6 generations.