Dog Iron Ranch, Historic ranch house in Oologah, United States.
Dog Iron Ranch is a two-story Greek Revival house built in 1875 by Clem Rogers, Will Rogers's father, in the Cherokee Nation area of northern Oklahoma. Its first floor is constructed of native oak, hickory, and walnut logs, measuring 48 by 32 feet. The two front rooms, each 16 feet square, were originally separated by a dog trot that was later enclosed to form a foyer. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Clem Rogers built the two-story Greek Revival house in 1875, four years before his son Will was born, and lived there until his wife died in 1890. The house served as a seat of local political power and was called "The White House on the Verdigris." In the 1960s the birthplace house was moved about a mile to its present site because of the Lake Oologah reservoir.
Dog Iron Ranch is closely tied to Will Rogers, the humorist and performer born here in 1879, who became one of the most recognized voices in American public life. Visitors today can walk through the property and get a sense of the Cherokee Nation ranching culture that shaped his early years.
The property is located in rural northern Oklahoma and is best reached by car, as there is no nearby public transport. It is worth setting aside a few hours to walk the grounds, since the main house and the barn are some distance apart.
The barn standing on the ranch today was raised on July 17, 1993, by two dozen Amish carpenters using traditional notch-and-peg joinery. Its peak roof is covered with asphalt shingles rather than wooden shakes for fire safety, and the structure measures 48 by 64 feet, slightly smaller than the original barn. Earlier barns on the site had been destroyed by wildfires.
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