08/16/2026
Take a good look at this one, click on it, because there is a whole lot of Tishomingo history standing in one photograph.
Seventeen Tishomingo residents lined up along Capitol Avenue in front of the R. M. Harris Store. The post office was also located in this area, although we are still digging into whether it was actually part of the store or next door.
The store belonged to Robert Maxwell Harris, and he was much more than a local merchant. Harris was born near Tishomingo in 1850 and built a successful farming operation before opening his general merchandise store here in 1896.
That same year, he was elected Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, serving from 1896 to 1898.
And here is where his story really becomes part of the Tishomingo we still know today.
As governor, Harris authorized the construction of the Chickasaw National Capitol. The beautiful red granite used to build it came from Harris' own quarry north of Tishomingo. Construction began in 1898, and that building is still standing today.
Harris was also a signer of the Atoka Agreement in 1897, served as the first president of the Chickasaw Bank after it was incorporated in 1901, and continued in business after leaving office.
Then look closely at the people standing in front of his store.
Standing 13th from the left is believed to be William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray, who was living and practicing law in Tishomingo during the Indian Territory days. He would go on to become president of Oklahoma's Constitutional Convention and eventually Oklahoma's ninth governor.
We still don't have an exact date for this photograph, but the Harris store opened in 1896 and the scene dates to Tishomingo's Indian Territory days, putting us somewhere before Oklahoma statehood in 1907.
(The map provided is dated 1903)
So this isn't just a picture of an old store.
It's Capitol Avenue when horses and wagons were parked out front, Oklahoma wasn't even a state yet, and two men whose names would become part of Oklahoma and Chickasaw history were right here in Tishomingo.
And thankfully, somebody thought to take a picture.
