Oklahoma has nearly 1,500 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, and has now added two more properties.
During the early-20th-century oil boom, housing in Seminole was in short supply. The Van-Sanford Apartments were the first permanent apartments built there in 1929 in Jacobethan-style architecture. They had luxury amenities usually found in apartments in larger cities at that time, according to the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Office.
After being damaged in a 2022 tornado and at risk for demolition, the property is being renovated for new tenants.
The second addition is the Moton School Campus Historic District in Muskogee County. The Moton School was built in 1949 in the All-Black town of Taft. It's still a community gathering spot.
The Moton School Campus Historic District, according to the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Office, is "evidence of racial fulfillment and self-realization" during the Jim Crow era.
Funds from the National Park Service contributed to the restoration of the Van-Sanford Apartments and the survey of the Moton School Campus Historic District. The State Historic Preservation Office is part of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
The National Register of Historic Places is a guide to help federal, state and local governments, private groups and citizens recognize the nation's cultural resources, according to "Oklahoma's National Register Handbook" published in June 2025 by the State Historic Preservation Office. The office helps to protect and sustain local heritage in future planning. The National Register of Historic Places is one part of the program established by the National Historic Preservation Act.
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