Woolaroc facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Barnsdall, Oklahoma |
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| Area | 3,700 acres (1,500 ha) |
| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | Ambler Associates; et al. |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman, Rustic |
| NRHP reference No. | 08001151 |
| Added to NRHP | December 05, 2008 |
Woolaroc is a special place in the Osage Hills of northeastern Oklahoma. It's both a museum and a wildlife preserve! Oilman Frank Phillips started Woolaroc in 1925 as his private ranch.
Today, this amazing ranch covers 3,700 acres. It's home to over 30 different kinds of animals. You can see native animals like bison and elk. There are also exotic animals, like longhorn cattle.
The museum at Woolaroc has a huge collection of Western art and artifacts. It also features many items from American Indian cultures. Plus, it has one of the biggest collections of Colt firearms in the world!
You can also see the famous Woolaroc airplane here. This plane won the exciting, but difficult, Dole Air Race in 1927. Woolaroc also has a nature trail and a living history area. Here, you can experience what life was like in an 1840s mountain man camp.
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What Does "Woolaroc" Mean?
The name "Woolaroc" is a mix of three words: woods, lakes, and rocks. These words describe the beautiful nature found in the Osage Hills where Woolaroc is located. Frank Phillips first planned to name his ranch house "Woolaroc." But soon, the name was used for his entire ranch!
The History of Woolaroc
How Woolaroc Was Created
Woolaroc is owned and run by The Frank Phillips Foundation, Inc. Frank Phillips and his wife, Jane Phillips, started this foundation in 1937. In 1944, the Phillips family gave all their personal land, buildings, animals, and art from Woolaroc to the foundation. Their main goal was to make sure Woolaroc would continue to operate and be preserved for everyone to enjoy.
Frank Phillips built Woolaroc in 1925 with a clear purpose. He wanted to save the history of the American West. He also wanted to educate and entertain people who visited.
Amazing Museum Collections
Woolaroc the Airplane
The museum actually started as a hangar in 1929. It was built for the Woolaroc airplane. This was a special single-engine plane designed by Clyde Cessna. Frank Phillips sponsored this plane in the 1927 Dole Air Race. This race was a very long and dangerous flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Woolaroc is the only plane from that famous race that still exists today! You can see it in its original hangar at the Phillips Museum. Frank Phillips also sponsored another plane called Oklahoma. But it had to stop the race early because of mechanical problems.
Over the years, the museum grew bigger and bigger. Frank Phillips received many gifts and bought more art. The museum is now 50,000 square feet! It holds over 600 paintings and 300 bronze sculptures. There are also more than 2,300 pieces of Native American art and artifacts. Many taxidermy animals also decorate the museum walls.
The museum's galleries show works from famous American Indian and Western artists. These include Remington, Russell, Leigh, Moran, and many others.
Woolaroc Ranch: A Historic Place
The Woolaroc Ranch Historic District is also known by other names, like Rock Creek Game Preserve and Frank Phillips Ranch. This entire area was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 2008. This means it's a very important historical site!
It's special because it shows what life was like during that time period. It also played a role in the oil industry back then. The way the land is designed and cared for is also very important. The historic district includes 18 buildings, 22 sites, 115 structures, and 17 objects that help tell its story.
The Pioneer Woman Models
In 1928, E. W. Marland was one of the richest men in the world. He founded the Marland Oil Company, which later became Conoco. Marland asked twelve sculptors from the US and other countries to create small, 3-foot tall sculptures. These were models for a huge statue called the Pioneer Woman.
Each sculptor was paid for their work. The small sculptures then traveled to twelve different cities. About 750,000 people saw them and voted for their favorite!
The twelve sculptures had different names, like Protective, Determined, Challenging, and Confident. The New York Times newspaper reported that the exhibition in New York City was very popular. People were very interested in seeing the sculptures.
The winning sculpture across the country was Confident, made by British-born American sculptor Bryant Baker. It showed a woman walking, with her skirts blowing in the wind. She carried a Bible in one hand and led her young son with the other. This sculpture received the most votes out of 123,000 votes cast!
Baker's large statue was revealed in Ponca City on April 22, 1930. Forty thousand guests came to the ceremony! Famous humorist Will Rogers spoke, honoring Oklahoma's pioneers. Even President Hoover spoke to the nation on the radio for the event. He said that pioneer women brought "refinement, moral character and spiritual force into the West." The finished Pioneer Woman Statue was 27 feet tall and weighed 12,000 pounds!
Later, E. W. Marland faced financial problems. He had to sell many of his art pieces. He wrote to his friend Frank Phillips in 1940, offering to sell them at a much lower price. Phillips sent an art expert to look at the sculptures. In the end, Phillips bought all twelve miniature Pioneer Woman sculptures for $500 each. These beautiful miniatures were moved from Ponca City to Woolaroc. You can see them on display there today!
Visiting Woolaroc
Woolaroc is open almost all year! You can visit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. During the summer (from Memorial Day to Labor Day), Woolaroc is also open on Tuesdays. Please remember that bicycles are not allowed inside the preserve.
See also
