National Guard Armory – Wetumka

Current Usage:

Description:

The Wetumka Armory is a single story, rectangular (198′ x 117′) structure constructed of red brick with running bond. With high interior ceilings, the central portion of the building has an arched roof, while sections on either side with lower ceilings have flat roofs. The central segment has impressive tower-like parapets at each corner. Rusticated and coursed buff colored sandstone is used as quoins, as frames for pilasters and along the top of each wall and pediment. Contrasting with the red brick, the native stone provides a decorative highlight for the entire structure. Metal casement windows and segmental arches over doorways are major characteristics of the structure. It also contains eight garage doors.
As a WPA building, the armory is exceptional for its use of red brick construction material and its employment of native sandstone for decorative purposes. Its scale is also more impressive than most WPA structures. Architecturally the armory is unique within the Wetumka community in terms of type, style, scale and character of workmanship. Construction of the armory provided job opportunities for destitute oil field workers at a time when starvation and loss of self respect was a realistic option. The building is also significant in that it helped to prepare militarily a unit of the Oklahoma National Guard that later distinguished itself in World War II in North Africa and Italy.

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Lots 4, 5 and 6, Block 52, Wetumka City original

Sources:

1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
2. National Register of Historic Places
3. Waymarking.com
4. Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality 
5. Google Book, Wetumka: A Centennial History – By B. Osborn

Supported Documents:

1. WPA Properties Hughes County – Wetumka Armory
2. National Register of Historic Places Support Document
3. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Photos: