Press Release
March 4, 2025
Contact: Jessica Brogdon
Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-0780
jessica.brogdon@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org/awardsbanquet
Greer County Prosecutor and Historian to be Honored at Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet
OKLAHOMA CITY — Native Oklahoman and historian Damon T. Cagle will receive the Muriel H. Wright Award at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s annual awards banquet on Thursday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. This award honors an outstanding article published in the preceding volume of “The Chronicles of Oklahoma,” the OHS’ scholarly journal.
Cagle’s article is titled “The Westmoreland Gang and the Outlaws of Keystone.” It explores 19th-century Indian Territory and the outlaw culture. Authorities found a family of murderers who became known as the Westmoreland Gang. Through his research, Cagle learned the group would take advantage of travelers and pioneers in northeast Indian Territory for their own devices.
Cagle was raised in Hinton but now lives in Mangum, where he is a prosecutor, genealogical researcher and historian. He earned degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Oklahoma.
The Muriel H. Wright Award was first given out in 1974. The recipient receives a plaque of recognition. Muriel H. Wright, the daughter of Choctaw Principal Chief Allen Wright, began performing editorial duties on “The Chronicles of Oklahoma” in 1943. In 1955, the Oklahoma Historical Society officially named her the journal’s editor. Wright authored six books on Oklahoma history. In the 1950s, she was instrumental in creating the Oklahoma Historical Society Historical Marker Program. In 1973, Wright retired from the OHS, and in 1975 passed away. In 1993, the Oklahoma Historical Society inducted her into the inaugural class of the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
Tickets to the Oklahoma Historical Society Awards Banquet can be purchased online. Guests are asked to RSVP by Monday, March 10. Dr. AJ Griffin will be the keynote speaker. Griffin spent six years in the Oklahoma State Senate and is now the CEO of the Potts Family Foundation. Joe Dorman, a former state representative and current CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, will serve as emcee for this event.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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