Smoke Over Oklahoma: The Railroad Photographs of Preston George exhibit opens

The Chisholm Trail Museum in Kingfisher will host a traveling exhibit, Smoke Over Oklahoma: The Railroad Photographs of Preston George, from February 1 through May 31, 2019. This unique exhibit from the Oklahoma History Center features 1930s and 1940s images from the collection of railroad photographs taken by Preston George. George photographed trains in his spare time while working as a civil engineer in Colorado and Oklahoma.

Born in 1906 in Indian Territory, George’s interest in trains began at an early age, but did not culminate into a full-fledged pastime until the 1930s when he said, “I ran across a copy of Railroad Stories, later renamed Railroad Magazine, and saw the many photos of locomotives and trains. This started me on a new hobby. … Soon, I was snapping still pictures of locomotives with a cheap Kodak camera and trading them far and wide with other fans.”

The Chisholm Trail Museum and A. J. Seay Mansion are located at 605 Zellers Avenue in Kingfisher. The museum’s regular hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information please call 405-375-5176 or visit www.ctokmuseum.org.