Lula Brannon Briscoe, ca. 1903. Courtesy of the Brannon/Briscoe family
It’s time for Episode 16 of “Voices from the West,” our blog series featuring audio recordings of historical documents from the Museum’s Dickinson Research Center.
Our goal is to show that history is more than a timeline. At its core, it’s about people. And not just the famous and infamous, but the everyday and ordinary. If you missed previous episodes, you can start here.
About Lula
The oldest of six children, Lula had moved with her family from Texas to the Chickasaw Nation in 1898. They settled in Sugden, a small community near today’s Texas border that consisted primarily of farmers. She married Robert Willis Briscoe and together they had five children.
Listen Now
[audio mp3="https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/16-12141903.mp3"][/audio]
Cotton wagons in Stillwater, ca. 1910. Robert E. Cunningham Oklahoma History Collection. Dickinson Research Center. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 2000.005.9.1743.
The Labor Signal. December 18, 1903. Newspapers.com.
Fun Facts
Cotton, winter wheat, and corn were the major crops in Oklahoma during the early 20th century. The 1910 Federal Census recorded more than 190,000 farms in the state and revealed the critical role of agriculture. Today, Oklahoma remains one of the top wheat producers in the country.
