A Harvey House Home page

Hotels, Lunchrooms, Restaurants in Oklahoma

Francis, OK
Guthrie, OK	In 1903, the "new" station was built in Guthrie, with a HH. It is now restored including the restaurant. The website shown at right is new and being developed.
Hugo, OK	A HH built in an SL&SF station. AT&SF owned a piece of the SL&SF for a time, and the Harveys rushed in. News update
Pauls Valley, OK	Pauls Valley was always a regular stop for all Santa Fe passenger trains up to the end of passenger service. It may have been a stop on early Amtrak trains through Oklahoma. No information on the HH.
Purcell, OK	Lenard T Harrison (Purcell HS Class of 1966 and a member of SFRH&MS wrote in March of 2005 that the Purcell Harvey House/depot (two story) was built in the 1890's after the GC&SF met the AT&SF at Purcell. It and its replacement depot lasted until the mid 1990's when it was torn down too. Amtrak's Heartland Flyer stops at a new brick structure built for that service. This update from a reader: "Incidentally, the Harvey House in Purcell was the place that brought about a famous court case by a man who was denied service because he was not wearing a coat or jacket. (Harvey Houses had jackets for customers who arrived without them, but the person in question declined to put one on.) The case ultimately reached the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled that the Harvey House rule was not unreasonable, especially since coats were provided for customers who did not have them, and that if restaurants were not allowed to have some rules of decorum the next thing might be for customers to appear dressed only in their underwear."
Sapulpa, OK	Mark Nerren wrote to update my information about Sapulpa on November 2, 2002 as follows: "Sorry to say, the Sapulpa Harvey House was torn down in 1963. The restored building is probably the old Frisco YWCA, used as a residence by some of the Harvey girls. That building is now the Sapulpa Historical Museum. They do have some good photos of the Harvey House." Thanks Mark. This photo above is of the original SL&SF and Harvey hotel and station. Thanks to my source -- OKGenWeb Creek County at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~okcreek/ >
Snyder, OK	Snyder was a station on the Saint Louis and San Francisco Railroad (the "Frisco"), a part of the Santa Fe Railway until 1897. My information indicates that the Fred Harvey Company operated a newstand there from 1896 until 1930. Your webiste received the following note on March 7, 2003. Steve Schmidt wrote: "Around 1970, I rummaged through the old HH hotel rooms, and found an inventory report for the Fred Harvey hotel and restaurant. Lists all the cups, plates, silverware, linens, sheets, etc. The HH museum in Florence, Kansas has a map that also shows a HH in Snyder, Oklahoma. I have no idea if the Snyder building is still standing, but somewhere I have photos of it from 1970." Your webiste received more information on July 13, 2006. Jerome Lutzenberger wrote: "The depot at Snyder, Oklahoma is no longer standing. It was demolished, I believe, in the 1990's. And yes, there was a restaurant and news stand in the depot, although I do not know when it closed. The building itself was in bad shape and the inside had been gutted. The telegraph operator had an office in a room off the old waiting room. There were rooms upstairs,(again gutted) but I not sure if they were rented out or used by the Harvey girls. "The depot also had a basement with a boiler in it. "The Frisco never operated much more than two or three pair of passenger trains through Snyder so I am not sure why the depot/Harvey House was built. "But even in the latter part of the last century it was a magnificent building. A shame it could not have been preserved." Thanks Steve and Jerome!
Vinita, OK	Photo above from the Northern Arizona University collection, used by permission Lottie is the first on the left. Do you know who the other ladies are? Vinita was a station on the Saint Louis and San Francisco Railroad. I have no other information about this station. Some references do not list this station as a Harvey facility. Is anyone aware of the current status of this station? On October 23, 2004, I received this note and the second photo at left from Patti Greenland: "My great-aunt (Lottie) was a Harvey Girl. She worked in Ponca City, Oklahoma. We still have the long apron that she wore while waitressing. I am not sure if the Harvey place is still standing, but I go to Ponca City often, so I will try to so some research. "My gr-aunt was injured while on the job. She was carrying one of those heavy trays full of food, and slipped on some water spilt on the floor. She said that they had to wear shoes with rather high heels while working. Anyway, when she fell, it broke her leg. Her leg never completely healed "It always had an open wound, and poor circulation. But, my gr-aunt walked every where that she went, until just before she passed away, at the age of 96 years. "I love history and geneology. I will try to see what else I can find out. Thank you"
Waynoka, OK	Waynoka, OK, has restored the Harvey House with a combination of Federal ISTEA, State of Oklahoma, and local funds. The link at left is to the Waynoka Historical Society. The picture is from their website showing the HH under restoration. The Waynoka Santa Fe station is adjacent to the HH on the left. A Transportation Museum is on the second floor. For info, email sandieo@pldi.net. Or call Sandie 580-824-4211 or 5871. Your webmaster visited Waynoka in July, 2009. Sandie and the locals did a fantastic job on restoring the Harvey House, installing a Harvey museum on the second floor, a small gift shop on the first. There's a restaurant in the old waiting room and lunchroom area, with a view of the BNSF mainline and yard tracks just a few feet away. Railroad, Harvey Buff, or just a random visitor, this museum is the one to see in the area! On a scale of one to ten, this rates about a 12! Here are four more pictures, taken shortly after the rededication of the restored Harvey House.