Look at the space on your right. It is quiet now, but this was once the heartbeat of Muskogee’s independent Black economy. You would have been standing in front of the Escoe Building. It was the handiwork of W.T. Escoe, a pioneer businessman who didn't just construct a building; he created a sanctuary.
In 1908, Escoe designed the two-story brick structure with distinct flair, featuring a blind arcade... essentially a row of decorative arches built flat against the wall without any openings. Inside, he founded the Peoples Bank and Trust, the first bank in Oklahoma owned and operated entirely by Black citizens. For decades, this was the nerve center where African American doctors, lawyers, and dentists could practice, as they were barred from renting space in the white-owned buildings downtown.
This address was about power. Later, an oil tycoon named Jake Simmons Jr. took over. They called him the Kingfish. From his second-floor office, he brokered massive oil deals in Nigeria and Ghana, building a fortune he used to fund Supreme Court battles against segregation. He kept working right here, even after attackers fired shotguns through the windows of his home to try and stop him.
The building survived the violence of the Jim Crow era. It was even listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But it couldn't survive... indifference. In 1988, the historic structure was razed to make way for a state employee parking lot. A physical link to international Black economic power was erased for a patch of asphalt.
Turn your attention toward the large modern structure nearby, the Arrowhead Mall. We will head there next, just a four-minute walk away.
