[5] First known as a railroad station stop, after the Land Run of 1889, Guthrie immediately gained 10,000 new residents, who began to develop the town.

Historic tourism is important to the city, and its Victorian architecture provides a backdrop for Wild West and territorial-style entertainment, carriage tours, replica trolley cars, specialty shops, and art galleries.

At noon on April 22, 1889, cannons resounded at a 2,000,000-acre (810,000 ha; 8,100 km2) section of Indian Territory, launching president Benjamin Harrison's "Hoss Race" or Land Run of 1889.

Within months, Guthrie was developed as a modern brick and stone "Queen of the Prairie" with municipal water, electricity, a mass transit system, and underground parking garages for horses and carriages.

Guthrie's western heritage includes the fact that, on April 13, 1898, outlaw Richard "Little Dick" West, a former member of the Wild Bunch gang, was in town when approached by legendary lawmen Heck Thomas and Bill Tilghman.

Whitley built the first brick block building in the territory for his National Loan & Trust Company.

Guthrie prospered as the administrative center of the territory, but it was eclipsed in economic influence by Oklahoma City early in the 20th century.

[10] Governor Charles N. Haskell, who was in Tulsa on the day of the election, ordered his secretary W. B. Anthony to have Oklahoma Secretary of State Bill Cross obtain the state seal and transport it to Oklahoma City, despite having been served a restraining order by Logan County Sheriff John Mahoney blocking the transfer.

[11][12][13][14] Anthony obtained written authorization from Cross, retrieved the seal from the Logan County courthouse, and delivered it to Oklahoma City.

It began to dwindle in size and soon lost its status as Oklahoma's second-largest city, initially to Muskogee, then later to Tulsa.

Guthrie is the largest urban Historic district in Oklahoma, containing 2,169 buildings, 1,400 acres (567 ha; 5.67 km2) and 400 city blocks.

Guthrie is a "Certified City;" it has received a Community Development Block Grant to inventory infrastructure features for Capital Improvement Planning.

Guthrie also hosts the Guthrie Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, one of the world's largest Masonic Centers,[18] which in years past has brought artists such as Henry Mancini, Lena Horne, Victor Borge, and Luciano Pavarotti to local audiences.

[20] With an emphasis on creative story-telling to illuminate the shared human experience, the Pollard produces six or more plays and musicals annually, enlisting artists across the United States.

[21] Guthrie lies along one of the primary corridors into Texas and Mexico, and is a four-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.