E. W. Marland Mansion facts for kids
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Ernest Whitworth Marland Mansion
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Marland Mansion Western Entrance Front
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Location | 901 Monument Rd., Ponca City, Oklahoma |
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| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | John Duncan Forsyth |
| Architectural style | Mediterranean Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001561 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 11, 1973 |
| Designated NHL | December 22, 1977 |
The E.W. Marland Mansion is a huge house in Ponca City, Oklahoma, United States. It was built in a Mediterranean Revival style. This amazing mansion is about 43,561 square feet (4,047 square meters) in size!
An oil rich man named Ernest Whitworth (E.W.) Marland built it. He wanted to show off his wealth during the oil boom of the 1920s. The house is one of the biggest homes in the southwestern United States. People even call it the "Palace on the Prairie." In 1973, it was named a National Historic Landmark. Today, it is a museum that anyone can visit.
Contents
Cool Architecture of the Mansion
The Marland Mansion was built on the side of a small hill. It was placed in an old stone quarry. The holes from the quarry were even used to build the swimming pool!
A famous architect from Tulsa, John Duncan Forsyth, designed the mansion. It took from 1925 to 1928 to build. The design was inspired by a palace in Florence, Italy, that Marland saw during his travels.
The mansion is made from light-colored stone blocks. These blocks were dug up right there on the property. The building has a rough U-shape and is very long.
Main Entrance and Details
The main entrance is on the west side. It has a covered driveway called a porte-cochère. This area has a gabled roof with clay tiles. Underneath, there are large, arched wooden doors made in New York. Look closely, and you'll see sculptures of Marland's four hunting dogs. An Italian artist named Ernest G. Pellegrini carved them.
The windows have black metal frames that stand out against the light stone. Windows on the first floor have fancy iron grates. Those on the second floor are smaller or have iron balconies.
Terraces and Unique Features
Large raised terraces are found on the north, south, and east sides of the house. However, they don't connect to each other. The south side has cool triple-arched windows that look like an arcade. Stone balconies with carved flower supports are on the upper level.
The drainage system is also visible and shows Marland's special symbol and the year "1927." Water from the roof drains through a sculpture of the Greek god Pan. A large glass and iron doorway leads to the terrace. It has a sunburst pattern above the doors.
The north side has three arched doorways, similar to the south. A stone staircase with carvings of mythical creatures leads to a second-floor balcony. This balcony is next to E.W. Marland's own rooms.
The east side is the only part of the house that looks the same on both sides. All three stories are visible here because of the hill. The first floor has three arched doorways for a lounge. Above it, on the second floor, is a terrace. The third floor has rectangular windows with iron balconies.
Roof and Chimneys
The roof hangs over the edges and has red clay tiles. It has five large stone chimneys with Mediterranean-style tops. There used to be a sixth chimney, but it was destroyed in a storm and never rebuilt.
Inside the Mansion
The mansion has three floors with 55 rooms in total. This includes 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces, and 3 kitchens! It's lit up by 861 light bulbs.
First Floor Fun
The main entrance is actually on the second floor because the house is built on a hill. From the entrance, a grand staircase leads down to the first floor. This area is called the Hall of Merriment. It's named after four playful carvings of men. They represent "Eat, drink and be merry," with one even taking a pinch of snuff (a type of tobacco).
Today, this hall has a gallery showing copies of the twelve statues from a competition. This competition was held to choose the design for the Pioneer Woman statue.
To the left of the hall is the service area. This includes the main kitchen, the staff dining room, and a pantry. On the right, there was once a handball court. Now, it's used for offices and the National Petroleum Hall of Fame.
At the far eastern side are two lounges. The inner one is the Winter Room, and the outer one is the Summer Room. The Winter Room has a big fireplace. Behind the fireplace, there's a small, secret safety room. The ceiling beams in this room are decorated with art. They show the history of Oklahoma, from Native Americans to the discovery of oil.
The third kitchen is also here, called the Hunt Kitchen. Guests would gather here for breakfast before fox hunts. Next to it is a secret Poker Room. This room had a hidden door to a 550-foot tunnel. The tunnel led to the Boat House and Artist Studio. The ceilings in the Summer Lounge were painted by Vincent Maragliotti. They celebrate the fun spirit of the 1920s.
Second Floor Grandeur
The most important rooms are on the second floor. To the left of the entrance is the formal dining room. It has walls covered in hand-cut oak wood panels from an English royal forest. The ceiling is a special plaster barrel shape.
Next to the dining room is a small, eight-sided breakfast room. Its walls have plaster work showing the Tree of Life. There's also a service kitchen here. It once had very modern appliances and counters made of a special metal called Monel.
A curved double staircase in the entrance hall leads to a beautiful loggia. This is a hallway with many arches and vaulted ceilings. It has hand-painted Chinese-style pictures on canvases. The floor is made of terrazzo, with each tile poured by hand. This loggia runs through the middle of the house to the ballroom.
On either side of the loggia are the sun room and living room. Marland displayed his collection of tapestries, paintings, and art here. The huge ballroom has a fancy ceiling with square patterns. It was covered in $80,000 worth of gold leaf! The lights came from expensive Waterford crystal chandeliers. Each one originally cost $15,000. Today, replacing the ceiling and chandeliers would cost around $2 million! On the north wall, you can see family portraits around a large fireplace.
Third Floor Private Quarters
The third floor is where the family's private rooms are. You can reach it by a stone staircase with iron railings. Or, you can take the original Otis elevator. It was one of the first elevators in Oklahoma! The elevator is lined with buffalo leather.
E.W. Marland's bedroom is paneled with wood in an English Tudor style. It has a carved wooden fireplace mantel. This mantel shows two of Marland's favorite polo horses. Many of his original furniture pieces have been returned to this room over the years. His bathroom even had an electric sauna, which was very rare back then!
The library was Marland's private study. He used it as his office when he ran for Governor of Oklahoma. The bookshelves in this room are special. They have giant seashell designs on top. These are copies of designs found in the Oval Office at the White House.
His wife, Lydie Marland's, bedroom is in a fancy Louis XV style. It has hand-carved panels of imported lime-wood. Her fireplace is made from pink Italian marble. There are also several guest rooms on this floor. One is named after Will Rogers, who is believed to have stayed there.
Mansion Grounds and Buildings
The Marland Mansion grounds cover about 30 acres (12 hectares). They include gardens, a lake, and other buildings. These buildings were designed to match the main house. They have rough stone walls and red clay tile roofs.
Lydie's Cottage
Lydie's Cottage was originally the chauffeur's (driver's) living area. It also had garage space for Marland's cars and carriages. It has some of the same cool features as the mansion, like a wood beam ceiling. The Marlands moved into this cottage in 1941 after selling the mansion. E.W. Marland passed away here six months later. Lydie Marland lived in the cottage on and off until 1987. Today, the cottage has an exhibit about the Marland family. It shows photos and items from their lives.
Artist Studio and Oil Museum
South of the cottage is the Artist Studio. It has a two-story peaked roof and two one-story galleries. It was built for Jo Davidson, an artist who sculpted statues of the Marland family. The wooden beams in the studio came from one of Marland's first oil derricks!
The south part of the studio holds the Bryant Baker Gallery. It shows 44 bronze and plaster models and sculptures by Bryant Baker. He was the artist who created the Pioneer Woman Statue in Ponca City. This gallery also has information about John Duncan Forsyth, the architect who designed the estate.
The Oil Museum is in the north part of the Artist Studio. It tells the story of the Marland Oil Company from the early 1900s. A tunnel connects the studio to the mansion through the Boat House.
The Boat House and Lake
The Boat House has a large underground wine cellar. It's hidden behind a safe door. It was also used to store boats for guests and family. This building used to be on the edge of one of five lakes on the estate. However, four of those lakes and the Olympic-sized swimming pool were filled in by a later owner. Lake Whitemarsh is the only lake left. It was named after Marland's yacht, which was named after a lake in his hometown.
Mansion History
In the 1920s, E.W. Marland was incredibly wealthy from oil. He controlled a huge part of the world's oil! He decided to build a home that showed his success. The mansion was built on a 2,500-acre (1,012-hectare) estate. Marland called it "The Refuge."
Construction started in 1925. Many European craftsmen worked on it. It was finished in 1928 and cost $5.5 million! Marland bought art and antique furniture from all over the world to fill the mansion and gardens.
E.W. Marland opened his estate on June 2, 1928, for friends and family. They enjoyed lunch and watched horse events like polo and fox hunting. Marland had brought these sports to Oklahoma.
Sadly, Marland lost control of his company in 1928. Because of this, the Marlands only lived in the mansion until 1931. Running such a big house cost too much money for their reduced finances. They moved into the Artist Studio on the estate. The mansion was only opened for special events after that. One such event was the party to celebrate Marland becoming Oklahoma's 10th governor in 1935.
Just six months before he passed away, Marland sold the estate in 1941. He sold it to a group of monks called the Discalced Carmelite Fathers for only $66,000. Marland kept the former chauffeur's cottage and some land for Lydie in his will.
In 1948, the Fathers sold the estate to the Sisters of St. Felix. They ran a private high school there. They built some new structures, but most have been removed. Angela Hall, built in 1958, is still a school today.
The Felician Sisters moved to New Mexico in 1975. They sold the estate to the City of Ponca City and the Continental Oil Company for $1.5 million. Continental Oil Company later gave its part to the city. The mansion opened to the public the next year. Since then, it has been continuously restored to its original grand state.
It was officially named a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
See also
- List of largest houses in the United States
