Hugo Historic District
a.k.a. See Also:Hugo Frisco Railroad Depot
U.S. 70 and U.S. 271, Hugo, OKMost towns in eastern Oklahoma originated from the movement of the Five Civilized Tribes into the area. Hugo is unique because it is the result of an entirely different environmental factor--the railroad. The importance of the railroad to the town has had a marked influence on the development of Hugo. It is in many respects a railroad town prospering and declining with the fortunes of the Frisco Railroad.
Before 1901 Hugo was only a wilderness broken only by the scattered farms of Choctaw Indian settlers. The decision by railroad officials that their Central division line ruing from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Paris, Texas and their Western division line known as the Arkansas and Choctaw line would cross at what is now Hugo, sparked the development of the town. The first lot was sold on September 26, 1901 to Quince Burrous and the townsite survey began on October 1, 1901 by W.Y. Collins.
Because of its location at the crossing of the two divisions of the Frisco Railroad, Hugo soon had 12 passenger trains daily in addition to becoming a major service center for freight traffic. This activity was a major factor in sustaining the Hugo economy. Besides the money the company spent in building its facilities such as the two story brick depot of 40,000 square feet in 1913 complete with a Harvey House and separate waiting rooms for white and black, a roundhouse part of which still stands, and other facilities; the railroad stimulated the construction of buildings designed to serve the train passengers. Hugo at one time had six large hotels. The largest was the Oriental (Belmont) built before 1905. Others included the Webb Hotel built in 1911 and a second wing completed in 1913, the Preston Hotel built in 1915, and the Winnie (Gilmore) Hotel built in 1920. These hotels are still standing. Other early buildings are the Citizens National Bank, Sooner Drug Store, and the Southwest Land Company building all of which were built in 1903.
Several buildings were constructed in 1905 and 1907 by Joel Spring, an early settler and land owner. The original center of town was somewhat to the west of the present day center. Spring and his associates did not own land in that direction; therefore he thought it best that the center of town be moved in an easterly direction. To accomplish this he built several large buildings on Broadway and Duke and used other methods to realize his goal. The Spring buildings are now known as Charlies Apparel, the Peoples' Store, and a vacant structure on Duke street.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.