M.A. Low, a Rock Island official, paid a visit to the local train station, which was still under construction, in the summer of 1889 and asked about its name. It was known as Skeleton during the time. He renamed the station Enid after a figure in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, since he disliked the previous name.
However, a more fantastic tale about how the town got its name is widely circulated. According to legend, some entrepreneurial settlers decided to put up a chuck wagon and cook for their fellow pioneers in the days after the land rush, hanging a sign that said “DINE.” Other, more free-spirited settlers reversed the sign to say, “ENID.”
Enid was home to a land office during the Land Run of 1893, which is now maintained at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center’s Humphrey Heritage Village.
Today, Enid offers a diverse range of activities and accommodation choices, from famous brand hotels to historic bed and breakfast. Being positioned at the crossroads of US routes 81 and 412 is not only convenient, but also historically important. Enid is located at the intersection of the Chisholm Trail and the Cherokee Strip Land Run.
Helen Mary Walker Garriott and Owen Garriott established Leonardo’s Children’s Museum. In September 1992, a group of visionary community leaders founded the Enid Arts and Science Foundation as a consequence of their passion, generosity, and leadership. Many devoted volunteers collaborated to buy, design, and construct an interactive center for the community’s youngsters.
Leonardo’s Children’s Museum, named after the renowned fifteenth-century artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, started courses in 1994 and opened in September 1995. Since then, it has attracted between 70,000 and 80,000 visitors each year, making it one of Northwest Oklahoma’s most popular tourist attractions.
Under the name Enid Community Theatre, the Gaslight Theatre of Enid, Oklahoma, was established in 1966. One of Oklahoma’s oldest and most active community theaters is Gaslight.
Enid Community Theatre’s organizational mission is twofold: to provide a diverse range of high-quality theatrical entertainment to a wide audience in Enid and the surrounding communities, and to provide a learning and practice environment for nonprofessional actors, directors, designers, and technicians.
The Railroad Museum of Oklahoma, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 18, 2015, contains one of the greatest collections of railroad memorabilia in the United States. Over 1,000 pieces of dining car china and silver service from historic passenger trains, railroad maps, railroad artwork, station clocks, steam engine bells, locks, keys, and a working telegraph system are among the exhibits.
A large O-scale layout with circus trains and other associated equipment is a popular attraction for both children and adults. There are HO-gauge and N-gauge layouts in the model railroad area.
Come witness for yourself where westerns were created! Step into the old west with Simpson’s Old Time Museum and Skeleton Creek Productions Movie Studio. In this 1880s saloon, listen to honky-tonk piano music while sipping an icy cold sarsaparilla. If you become too boisterous, you may be hauled to the marshal’s office and imprisoned in a 1880’s prison.
See the 1880s hotel lobby, which includes a stairwell, as well as the hotel hallway and an actual hotel room. Come see how the cowboys lived in a genuine link shack, shop at the General Store, or relax in the 1880s church. All the movie sets are full-size and have been utilized in Skeleton Creek’s action-packed family westerns. A private doll collection of over 1,800 dolls is also housed in the museum.
The Enid Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1906, and the Enid Symphony Association was organized in 1971 to support it. Douglas Newell became the Enid Symphony Association’s Executive Director and the first full-time ESO Music Director in 1983.
The ESO offers a ten-concert Subscription Concert series each season, as well as a free outdoor performance in Enid’s Meadowlake Park in July and Carnegie Hall Link Up educational performances.
