Quanah Parker Star House
Encyclopedia
The Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its the 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 Mrs. Birdsong upon Parker's 1911 death. Originally located near the Wichita Mountains
north of Cache, Birdsong moved the house from its original location to Cache and sold it to Herbert Woerner 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 Four Sixes Ranch owner Samuel Burk Burnett, financed the building of the house. The cost of construction was slightly over $2,000. 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 Teddy 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.
Cache, Oklahoma
Cache is a city in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,796 at the 2010 census. It is an exurb included in the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, county of Comanche
Comanche County, Oklahoma
Comanche County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Built on former reservation lands of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache in Indian Territory, Comanche County was open for settlement on August 16, 1901 by lottery. The region has three cities and seven towns as well as the Fort Sill...
, in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma
National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States...
in 1970.
Built by Comanche chief Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker was a Comanche chief, a leader in the Native American Church, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a reservation in Indian Territory...
circa 1890, the structure was purchased by his daughter Mrs. Birdsong upon Parker's 1911 death. Originally located near the Wichita Mountains
Wichita Mountains
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The mountains are a northwest-southeast trending series of rocky promontories, many capped by 540 million-year old granite. These were exposed and rounded by weathering during the Permian Period...
north of Cache, Birdsong moved the house from its original location to Cache and sold it to Herbert Woerner 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
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
. 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 Four Sixes Ranch owner Samuel Burk Burnett, financed the building of the house. The cost of construction was slightly over $2,000. 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 Teddy Roosevelt. Parker was a founding supporter of the Native American Church
Native American Church
Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
. 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.