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Red Cross Canteen

Historic building
In El Reno, Oklahoma
0.1 mi from Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

The Red Cross Canteen is a small wooden building in El Reno, OK, that opened in 1918 to serve soldiers on troop trains passing through town during World War I. Volunteers built it with telegraph poles given by the Rock Island Railroad. After years of moves and neglect it was restored in 1975, and it now sits near the Rock Island Depot, close to Route 66.

What is Red Cross Canteen?

The canteen is a modest wooden structure standing near the Rock Island Depot, on its east side. It was the local American Red Cross commissary, where troops stopping in El Reno could get supplies. The restored building holds World War I era exhibits and memorabilia, along with the story of the Red Cross chapter in Canadian County.

History of Red Cross Canteen

Volunteers put the canteen together, using telegraph poles that the Rock Island Railroad gave. Its doors opened on August 1, 1918, on a spot south of the station.

Once the war ended, it was hauled to Legion Park and spent many years as a Boy Scout cabin. It had fallen apart by the 1960s. In 1975, as part of the nation's Bicentennial, it was moved back near its first site and restored.

Visiting Red Cross Canteen: tips

The canteen is just off the old road, so it adds only a few minutes to a drive through El Reno. The Southern Hotel is about 0.1 miles away, and the El Reno Hotel and the Goff House are both about 0.2 miles away, so the area makes a short walking loop.