Description:
In the middle of the 1920s, George Mulligan platted and sold lots on the west side of the North Canadian River. This land was outside of city limits, swampy, and often flooded. Although platted as West Lawn Garden, the area was often called Mulligan Flats.
There are no records in the school board minutes for the inclusion of a “Mulligan School” into the OKCPS list, but there were funds going toward Mulligan as early as April 1923. School board minutes list the school site as two rooms of a church building at West Grand (today’s Sheridan) and Mulligan Street (today’s NW 1st Terrace), quite possibly the same site of Mark Twain school today. In July 1923, George Mulligan went before the school board requesting a new school building for the 150 families living west of the river. A contract for the school building was awarded to R.M. Crissman in November of that year. Several men offer to give or sell land, and for a time, the school board used land donated by R.E. Chandler at 2340 West 3rd Street, and the school was referred to as Chandler School.
In 1925, George Mulligan offered to give land for free, the board accepted, and a wood frame building was moved to his donated land at 2nd Street and Villa Avenue. The first school census that includes Mulligan (1926) lists 58 boys and 50 girls attending, all white. The school is then listed at Main Street and Villa Avenue in 1927. In 1930, three swings were purchased for its playground.
School board minutes from April 1930 proposed the names of several new school buildings, and a name change from Mulligan to Mark Twain. There is no information explaining the reason for the name change in the school board minutes or local papers. By the 1931 school census, Mark Twain had grown to 297 students, 239 white and 58 African American. While most schools in the core of Oklahoma City were segregated at this time, outlying schools were often mixed reflecting the more rural and secluded natures of neighborhoods on the edge of the city limits.
The growing numbers of students caused concerned parents to petition the school board for a larger building, which was granted unanimously. The school board applied to have federal PWA money fund several school projects, including a new building for Mark Twain. Records from the 1930s list the school site as the 2400 Block of Main Street, essentially its location today. The building cost around $65,000. The previous wood frame building was moved to Lowell School in Community Camp. By 1940, plans were drawn up to add a second story to the main part of the building, adding four classrooms for general studies, music, and art. During the 1940s, the school board bought or received the remaining lots that make up Mark Twain’s campus today, allowing for additional classrooms, cafeteria, and a water main to replace well service.
More photos of the West Lawn Gardens/ Mulligan Flats neighborhood, including Mark Twain School, can be found here.