^Y ' ^\ AND/ OR HISTORIC: £^"'' W- ^ / .^$ ' X \ Quanah Parker Home

Home , Quanah Parker

FornTlO-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERV ICE Oklahoma COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HIS' FORIC PLACES Comanche INVENTORY - NOMINAT ON FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DATE , . , ,M yge an entries - complete app 'iqable, sections) '4)diJA't-3£T» &o ll %L^/7 0 [lllllli^ COMMON; Quanah Barker -'s Star House /^y ' ^\ AND/ OR HISTORIC: £^"'' W- ^ / .^$ ' x \ Quanah Parker Home -. /<£> ^<:V , s \£\ EjBSf&S $PWiWWM^^^*^^^PI^M^^^lMli^W lillll!!^^^^ STREET AND NUMBER! / V \ S^C /^\~ ,-^ /=.£J Baele Park (near center N/2 Sec. 23, T 2 Hs, H 14 W)^v\ T ^&&J /-7 CITY OR TOWN: Cache ^/Ac^vu-KX^ x<|vv>.,Z,-;;'\^/ STATE I CODE COUNTY: ^i~~~~£^L-l~^>T~^ CODE Oklahoma 35 Comaiiche 031

STATUS ACCESSIBLE CATEGORY OWNERSHIP (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC

Q District (^ Building D Public Public Acquisition: D Occupied Yes: in n . j P9 Restricted D Site Q Structure IS Private Q In Process (XJ Unoccupied L-3 i in . CD Unrestricted D Object D Botn f~l Being Considerec G Preservation work UJ in progress * ' No

PRESENT USE fChecft One or More as Appropriate)

\ 1 Agricultural Q Government [~~| Park O Transportation CH Comments

I | Commercial 1~~1 Industrial f~) Private Residence D O»h«f (Spmrlfy) [H Educational CH Military Q Religious

23 Entertainment §0 Museum f~] Scientific

OWNER'S NAME: STATE: Herbert Woesner Oklahom STREET AND NUMBER: Eagle Park STA - CITY OR TOWN: ; rE: CODE P Cache ; ok;Lahoma 35 ^WiS^PPW^^^^^i^^^li^PM^^P^P^^^^^^^^ COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Office of the County Clerk , Comanch STREET AND NUMBER: Comanche County Courthouse STA- CITY OR TOWN: PE CODE a

lAwton / ok:Lahoma 35 PI TITLE OF SURVEY: ENTR

Oklahoma Historic Sites Survey JN Tl NUMBERY 0 DATE OF SURVEY: 1958 n Federal (3 State Q County Q Local ft TO DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Z Cb TO

Oklahoma Historical Society C "5 ^ STREET AND NUMBER: m O Historical Building r*Z CITY OR TOWN: STAT E: CODE Oklahoma City Ok lahoma 35 ^s DATE (Check One) I [ Excellent 1 2 Good D F°i' C~) Deteriorated D Ruins [~] Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) n Altered H Unaltered [X] Moved n Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL. APPEARANCE

The Star House oonsists of a BMdULtwo-s^orysection, mately^^^jc^Q^Jeji^ ,^|ware, wi^J^§J$ic reached by a crawl hole, and a two-room extension oontalSI^lykitchen and dining room* ^©-stpry galleries .ring it__on two sijes. The frame house has at least 12 rooms (varying estiiates, dependent upon the defini tion of ^room,*1 boost the oount to 22 rooms), eight of which were considered as bedrooms, They were needed, as Quanah had five wives, rooms for each of whom were reportedly furnished alike so none could complain of his partiality.

The inside walls were papered* After Quanah f s death the heirs lathed and plastered some of the rooms* An expansion of nearby Fort Sill in 1956 took in the Parker homestead* The Star House wag moved to Cache, sold to Herbert Woesner of Eagle t/» Park in JJJJ* When he removed some of this plaster, he found m underneath it parts of the first paper, which he has since attempted rn to match so as to restore the rooms to something resembling their original condition* A picket fence surrounded the old house when it still housed Quanah and his family. Neighbors said (probably z in jest) the fence was to help him keep his wi^es ft, at home* t/» More than likely it was intended to keep the curious out, for the old chief was a well-known object of interest and curiosity well before his death.

How did the house acquire the name ^Star House11 ? According to oldtimers, because a rather pompous brigadier general from nearby Fort Sill once asked Quanah for permission to cross the chief f s land for some troop maneuvers. "This man," Quanah said, whave on many-stars-like-at-night-in-the-sky, on wagon, on flag, o on shoulders . . .* When his audience some Texans with still z strong Confederate loyalties laughed appreciatively, hinted t/» the officer wanted to impress Quanah with the number of warriors he commanded, the Comanche chief retortedi nQuanah bigger leader have more warriors. Maybe-so tomorrow he will have many white stars painted on roof to show this.11 And he did - fourteen.wJalte *fce£§^StpBmcff4on the wstar House11 - including two on a smoke house and two on a summer house*

A word would seem to be in order, too, on lagle Park itself. While containing rides, skating rink, and other attributes of a family-oriented amusement park, the privately-owned, 250-acre preserve also has one quality in common with the more prestigious Greenfield Village creation of the late Henry Ford* The Star House is not the only building of genuine historic interest on the grounds* To Eagle Park Herbert Woesner has brought a ^picket house" erected at nearby Fort Sill in 1872 by troopers of the 10th Cavalry} the Saddle Mountain Mission school (1896) and church (1903)j the Frisco railroad depot (1902) from Cache; PERIOD (Check One or Afore as Appropriate) Q Pre-Columbian | Q 16th Century Q 20th Century Q 15th Century Q 17th Century

STATEMENT OF PIGNI FIC ANC E

f ^ The star-bedecked nStar House1* of Quanah Parker is curious architecturally and fascinating from a human-interest point of But it is significant primarily because of the strong character of its owner and his influence on his fellow .Com no he s, first in leading them in resistance to white encroachment on their culture, and then, when that was obviously futile, in urging them to adopt the white man's way* U 3 The drama of Quanah Barker begins with 01 Ann Jarker. A white girl, cagtured by _|uahada, Comanches, in 1836 at ^jîs®ijoJPjttixw »..- !»- grew up ^^âmon^£he, IiSians in^West Texas, became the -f«>f.KcStcaii#'-wh.__. later became a Comanche chief, In 1861, wHen luanah, her eldest son, was 12, she by :ir"party of Texas Hangers, with her infant daughter âirie Flower, and turned over to an uncle in the more settled part of Texas. LLJ UJ Her marriage with Peta Nokoni (he was killed not too long after ithe was captured) was apparently a happy one. He seems to have treated her kindly and, though his tribe practiced polygamy, he never took another wife. Following her recapture and return to her people, she made several unsuccessful attempts to escape and rejoin her husband and her adopted people. She died, perhaps in part from sorrow, with her daughten in 1864.

Quanah was too young to earn the rank of chief when Nokoni, his father, was killed. He eventually worked up to it, however, through the force of his courage and ability. For some years hestrongl^ resisted the wJkikft,j3ian. His last battle was fought inTS74 at Mobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle. But resistance soon proved futile and on June 24,_1875, at FortjSill, he and - hi ^s Qu*^*4 i, .band gave _t hemse;lve s,, '"u^"tEe la if ^Cômanc |ie j._,.To*"1"""' surrender. Following a visit with his mother 's white relatives in'^Telcas he tried to adjust to the white man*s civilization and to persuade his people to do likewise. He took the last name of his mother, "became the first recognized chief of all ^he Comancêj , From th*enûn il he died in 1911 he served with the Indian police, a tribal delegate to Washington on several occasions, , "Coiaanche Civilization with History of Quanah Parker," The Chronioles of Oklahoma, Vol. I (1922), pp. 243-252. £awr ence, Arthur R., Persona1 Letter dated April 22, 1970. We limn, Paul I., nCunthia Ann Parker," The Chronioles of Oklahoma, Vol. XII (Spring 1912), pp. 163-1701 ' '. ' ! tright, Muriel H., A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma (Normans University of Oklahoma Press), 1951, pp. 118-127.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY /go LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE HL Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds 34° 37 ' 42 ' 98 ° 38' 34 »

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: Q, Q, 5

CODE COUNTY m m

STATE: CODE

c NAME AND TITLE: n

ORGANIZATION H Oklahosaa Historical Society 1970 STREET AND NUMBER: O -z.

CITY OR TOWN: CODE 00 Oklahoma J£

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na I hereby certify that this property is included in the tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register. in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set t Ki forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic PresetVfKion lever of significance of this nomination is: National Q State n Local SEP 291970 Date Name Form 10-SOOa UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Jufy 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY Comanche INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER (Continuation Sheet) (Number alt entries) Uo» 7. Description

Quanah Parker*s Star House and a representative country sohoolhouse (Sunny Side, "built in 1896 some eight miles south of Cache). In addition he has constructed authentic replicas (clearly labeled as such) of several other structures of strong historic interest to the area. These include the original led Store (built in 1886 and torn down in 1912)} one of the early trading posts in this region that served as site of the 1892 Jerome Council at which the Kiowas and Comanches agreed to open their reservation to settlement; the Violett livery stable (built in 1901, destroyed by fire in 1914)j and the newspaper office (from 1902 to 1938) of the Cache Journal. Forpi 10-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Oklahoma aiON^L REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY Comanche /: v C^ • NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONL.Y

EN(TRY NUMBER DyfcTE , : i 14 (Continuation Sheet) .— £/,v-i— ^ ——— *7t)* /fit Q£t 00 /A yj&qho (Number all entries) / \-- /:ioV8* Significance

Quanah Parker's Star House

and as'one of three judges on the Court of Indian Offenfes. He was, says Muriel H. Wright, *the best-known Comanches of the reservation period, is one of the romantic Indian characters in the history of Oklahoma.11

Under terms of the Jerome Commission inJL892 the, Cojnanches (with the Kiowas and Apaches) top^_land allotments. Quanah took hij,_L60_ acres .south, ,,of Iag|e M^quntain, several miles north of Cache. Shortly before this time parSaps'tn 1890 or 1891 he built the so-called Star House. MNow, me Quanah, 11 he is supposed to have said, ttmove wives and children out of tepees live in house like whites . . .w Who helped him build the rather pretentious house is still not known precisely. Some Texas cattlemen assisted, probably to gain favor with him and his people; that much is known. It is also known that Uncle Sam did not help. The attitude of the govern ment in this matter is succinctly outlined in a letter from Indian Commission T. J. Morgan to Charles B. Adams, Indian agent at Anadarko. Dated Dec. 18, 1890, it read as follows. "In reply to your letter of the 8th ultimo, calling attention to a previous letter in reference to building a house for Quanah Parker, I invite your attention to the fact that while at your agency, I stated to you personally that I did not deem it wise for the government to contribute money to assist building a house for an Indian who has five wives. I do not think the proposition admits of discussion.

The fact of those five wives - actually, he took seven wives in all, though he never had more than five at one time and marital attrition (he "threw away* several, to use the Indian term for divorce) left him with only two at the time of his death - gave rise to an oft-repeated story, perhaps in part apochryphal, deserving of at least footnote recognition in history. "Quanah, w the Commissioner of Indian Affairs is supposed to have said to the chief in 1892, nyou have agreed to take allotments and sell your surplus lands and let them be settled by white people. When the white people came to be your neighbors it will be the white man f s law and the white man's law says one wife. You have too many wives. You will have to decide which one you want to keep and tell the rest of them to go Forjn 10- 300 a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Oklahoma NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM Comanche FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DATE (Continuation Sheet) (Number all entries) No. 8. Significance

Quanah Parker * s Star House

somewhere else to live.11 Quanah listened attentively, then startled the commissioner with a shrewd* "You tell urajn After a moment he explained: HYou tell me which wife I love most - you tell me which wife love me most - you tell me which wife cry most when I send her 'way - then I pick um,* That apparently ended the matter.