Description:
This photo was taken in Oklahoma City in 1891. There aren’t many details associated with the photo but we do know that the view is looking west down Grand Avenue from the Santa Fe Railroad depot. It appears a herd of longhorns has arrived from one of the many surrounding ranches and are about to be loaded onto cattle cars – probably headed for stockyards Kansas City or Chicago. Such news was probably welcomed by the cattle after having come to a halt in front of Delmonico’s steakhouse (first building on the right). The two men in the foreground appear to be sealing a deal with a handshake, though we can’t be sure if it’s an authentic transaction or staged for the camera. At any rate, the scene exemplifies Oklahoma City’s importance as a railhead and as the place where the frontier lifestyles of the farmer and rancher overlapped the more developed eastern cities.