Oklahoma's Own: Inside Tahlequah's Thompson House

Don't you love it when a part of Oklahoma history is saved from the wrecking ball? That's the case with an historic house in Tahlequah that is more than 120 years old.

Tahlequah has 19 spots on the National Register of Historic Places. One of those is the Thompson House, a home that dates back to the 1880's.

"This house screams history," Beth Herrington said.

Beth Herrington knows a lot about that history. An affluent businessman built the home for his son and daughter in law, Dr. Joseph Thompson and his wife lived in the house for more than four decades.

"It is Queen Anne architecturally because it has two bay windows. It is carpenter gothic because of what we commonly call the gingerbread trim on the outside," Herrington said.

Inside you'll find some of Thompson's artwork and furniture from the time period, including a pre-1900 organ, all the features and style of the day; a house with character and built to last.

But we're lucky it did last.

After Dr. Thompson passed away, the house ended up being used as the county health center for three decades. Herrington says then, the county really didn't know what to do with it and considered tearing it down.

"We thought that was very ill advised," said Herrington.

So a group of women rallied to save the Thompson house. They didn't receive any public dollars for renovations and preservation. It happened with a ton of fundraiser's and passion.

"Bean dinners; we did banjo pickings'; we did yard sales out the gazoo, they were terrible, but we raised lots of money," Herrington explained.

They saved the home, and a piece of Oklahoma's history, and now a nonprofit group maintains it for future generations to see.

"It's a wonderful credit to the community," Herrington said. "A wonderful jewel in the crown of an historic town like Tahlequah."

The Thompson House is open for tours by appointment and can host special events like receptions.

You can arrange a visit by calling 918-456-3554, 918-458-9035, or 918-456-8710.