Why It Matters
Guthrie sprang up in a single day on April 22, 1889, when the Land Run opened the territory, and it served as the capital of Oklahoma until the government slipped away to Oklahoma City in 1910. Because the town froze economically not long after, its Victorian downtown survived largely untouched, and today the whole district is a National Historic Landmark of red brick, sandstone, and Gothic detail.
Its crown is the Scottish Rite Temple, the largest Scottish Rite Masonic temple in the world at over 500,000 square feet, a Neo-Classical giant built on the old Capitol grounds. Even the outside is worth the drive.
The RV Adventurer's Take
This one is an easy half-day or day trip from base camp, not a camping destination. Park and walk the historic downtown, ride the trolley tour, and browse the antique shops, galleries, and murals that fill the old storefronts. It is the most history you can bank for the least driving from your site.
If you want the Scottish Rite Temple interior, note the guided tours run at 10 a.m. Monday through Thursday only and cost around ten dollars, so time your visit. The Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library, the Pollard Theatre, and the Lazy E Arena round out the day.
Field Note
Guthrie is close enough to be a spontaneous afternoon, but two things reward planning: the Scottish Rite tour is 10 a.m. weekdays only, and the town's best energy lands on its festival weekends, the 89er Day celebration in April, the Jazz Banjo Festival on Memorial Day weekend, and Territorial Christmas in December.
History to See
The Oklahoma Territorial Museum tells the Land Run and territorial story, the adjacent Carnegie Library saw the first state officials sworn in, and the Frontier Drugstore Museum and Pollard Theatre keep the period feel. Ask locally about Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw whose long, strange afterlife ended with a burial here, if you like your history weird.