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Presidents' Day: History of presidential visits to Oklahoma in photos

Oklahoma Historical Society

KENNEDY JOHN F. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES STATE VISIT OCTOBER 29 1961 (BIG CEDAR): UNKNOWN: Caption reads, President Kennedy bid some Oklahoma state troopers farewell in a pouring rain as he prepared to leave the ranch home of Sen. Kerr where he was a house guest Sunday night. Photographer UNKNOWN. Original Photo UNKNOWN. Published on T-10-30-61.

By: Ryan Love

Posted at 11:08 AM, Feb 20, 2023

and last updated 2023-02-20 12:08:13-05

TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Historical Society is celebrating Presidents' Day by sharing a handful of photos from past presidents' visits to the Sooner State.

No U.S. President has hailed from Oklahoma, but visits over the last few decades have showcased the relevance of the state, its people and its history to the nation. Most recently,President Joe Biden visited Tulsa's Greenwood Cultural Center as the city recognized the centennial for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in 2021.

FILE - President Joe Biden listens to program coordinator Michelle Brown-Burdex during a tour of the Greenwood Cultural Center to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Tulsa. Biden, who traveled to Tulsa one year ago to mark the 100th anniversary of the massacre, said Wednesday, June 1, 2022 that his administration has worked to end housing discrimination and to provide federal contracts to businesses owned by Black people. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci File)

The year before Biden's visit, then-President Donald Trump held a rally at Tulsa's BOK Center amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as he entered a heated presidential campaign he'd eventually lose to Biden.

The Oklahoma Historical Society shared photos of several iconic presidents from the nation's history on their visits to Oklahoma in honor of Presidents' Day:

Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1938