Harman Patil (Editor)

Quanah Parker Star House

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Built
  
ca 1890

Phone
  
+1 580-429-3420

NRHP Reference #
  
70000532

Added to NRHP
  
29 September 1970

Quanah Parker Star House

Location
  
Eagle ParkCache, Oklahoma

Address
  
N 8th street, Cache, OK 73527, USA

Similar
  
Comanche National Museum, Museum of the Great Plains, Geronimo's Grave, Kwahadi Museum of the Ameri, Mount Scott

The Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its roof, is located in the city of Cache, county of Comanche, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma, in 1970.

Built by Comanche chief Quanah Parker circa 1890, the structure was purchased by his daughter Laura Neda Parker Birdsong upon Parker's 1911 death. Originally located near the Wichita Mountains north of Cache on Fort Sill's west range, Birdsong moved the house from its original location to Cache and sold it to Herbert Woesner in 1958. Although no one can be certain why Parker painted the stars on his roof, lore has it that he meant it as a display of rank and importance equal to a military general. The Preservation Oklahoma organization has listed the Star House as endangered.

After Parker's surrender in 1875, he lived for many years in a reservation tipi. Parker decided that he needed living quarters more befitting his status among the Comanches, and more suitable to his position as a spokesperson for the white cattle owners. In order to accommodate his multiple wives and children, this two-story eight-bedroom clapboard house with ten-foot ceilings and a picket fence was constructed for Parker. Request for financial assistance was denied by the United States government. Parker's friends in the cattle business, in particular 6666 Ranch owner Samuel Burk Burnett, financed the building of the house. The cost of construction was slightly over $2,000 ($48,000 in 2010, adjusted for inflation). In his formal wallpapered dining room with its wood-burning stove, Parker entertained white business associates, celebrities and tribal members alike. Among his celebrated visitors was Theodore Roosevelt. Parker was a founding supporter of the Native American Church. His home was often the scene of practitioners who sought him out for spiritual advice. Parker fed hungry tribal members in his home and was known to never turn away anyone.

Additional Information

Wood frame structure built 1890 34.66889°N 98.648815°W / 34.66889; -98.648815 (Location of Star House built approximately 1890)
Wood frame structure relocation 1958 34.634461°N 98.64175°W / 34.634461; -98.64175 (Relocation of Star House in 1958)

References

Quanah Parker Star House Wikipedia


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