OKMULGEE, Okla. — The old Okmulgee Colored Hospital is arguably one of the most important yet often-ignored symbols of Oklahoma Black history outside of Tulsa.
Okmulgee-based non-profit Landmark for All Generations, Inc. owns the building and still wants to renovate its dilapidated interior, but needs funding.
The organization hosted several men and women on Feb. 16 to tour the inside. For most, it was their first time visiting since being born there in the 1950s.
Janice Williams Gray celebrated her 72nd birthday by seeing her birthplace for the first time.
"You can tell I'm at a loss for words," Gray told 2 News. "To be able to revisit my childhood. To be able to revisit places that I was not able to come to."
From the maternity ward to the surgery section, the 18-room two story hospital served as a beacon of health and hope for Okmulgee County's Black population during segregation.
Integration brought new tenants to the building, including a nursing home, a youth shelter, and a chapter of the Red Cross. It's been in the National Registry of Historic Places for a generation, yet sits with plenty of dust, cracks, and webs.
There's a plan to change that with the decade-long work of Landmark for All Generations. Okmulgee mayor Mickey Baldwin and Julie Roberds are on the group's board.
"We've got a new roof on it, we have a security system. We've got doors that are brand new, windows that are brand new," Mayor Baldwin said. "That's taken a lot of effort."
"1.5 million dollars probably is what we would need to do the whole (restoration project)," Roberds said. "It also needs a new elevator shaft."
To fund the rest of the upgrades, they'll have to lobby donors and the community to lend a helping hand.
"We're not preserving a building," the mayor said. "We're preserving the idea and the history behind it, the lives of people who make up Okmulgee, Oklahoma."
"I think if we just get the word out to the right people, it's a such a great project (that) I know that eventually this is going to happen," Roberds added.
Preserving the hospital for establishing a clinic and community center would also be a good long-term birthday present for Mrs. Gray, who traveled from her home in Aurora, Colo. to see her mother and visit the building.
"And to restore some of the rooms to where they were (would) mean a lot to the African American community here," Gray said.
Landmark for All Generations continues to fundraise for the efforts.
Its next community event for the cause is a spaghetti dinner at the Okmulgee Elks Lodge at 701 S Mission Ln. on Feb. 17, from 5-8 p.m. Roberds said all proceeds will go toward the restoration of the building's interior.
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