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WAGONER, I.T.
church-house with Presbyterian and Methodist organizations; [and]
four hotels."5 Among those who moved to Wagoner in the early years
and remained to become civic leaders were Joseph Casaver, Samuel
S. Cobb, James A. and William H. Harris, and M. J. Phillippe.
Although the Creeks still owned the land, fullbloods did not feel at
home in the town, and few established residence there. Ironically,
Creek freedmen, who were the victims of discrimination in white
communities, settled in Wagoner in significant numbers. By 1902
blacks owned a number of businesses in the town including a cotton
gin, a saloon, and boarding house. Two years later the Wagoner Echo,
a weekly newspaper serving the black community in northeastern
Indian Territory, began operations in the city. And by the first years
of the twentieth century a separate school system had been es-
tablished for black children.'6
Education was of primary importance to the growing population of
Wagoner. The schooling of Creeks was financed by the tribe and
missionaries, but whites, who were considered intruders, were not
allowed to send their children to Indian schools. William McAnally
hired a teacher and established a school in a small building behind
the Cottonwood Hotel. Although no records have been located, the
school probably was supported by subscriptions. Families with chil-
dren enrolled would pay a small monthly fee to defray the cost of the
teacher's $10 a month salary and other expenses.17
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