,
*
i .,. Tll'-ls-a- WI"II \ ollliarna. 74.lJvlng In Dawson HI Oldest House III Be Preserved As Relic n'dc~~'B;~,~,~t;;,,~:.'""'~,L~
'" '" ... *' .. '" * '" '" '" '" ... to~t~ary ChurCh, all Jive II ~~
Ancient Log Structure to nDe Re'scued By Sons 0fl1A1ericall Rev"olutIOn. ne"v1er almived57Il"yueahra 0lei and have ~=======================:;:;=:;;~ii~~~~~;;:;~~:-;:;;:-;;;-;;;;;;;:I;;;;;-;;;~~;-;~;u~;;;;:;;;;;-;;;~ICOUnt, .. ...,'" ere bu~ In Tulsa
, aay, thb old timer.
Ch03e and could have lUI much land engineers and gradIng crew' came. to ~~~~!n,.,kJl...thaht It Is a tine Idea
-as he could lence. building the right-oC·way for the !lor'n',"""'" ..,e OllSe Where he was
"My father selected the site or the Prisco. The first depot was north
present old 108 house on NOrth Cln- olthe traclui and opposite the pres- lh'J'here wcre no other houses in
e1nnatl I.\'cnue tor his home. He ent litatlon. In those da}'3 the road tba;~ ::,~~~n when my father built
cut his lop from Jack oak timber ran mixed trains. passenger coaches reflectln'-'," ,It 16 the only one left
'I'er In the Osage. building onl}' and box cars together. FrequentlY homCi t". YPe of the early day
'ene rOOnl at rIn~. H feet b}' 16 feel. a shipment of liquor would be seized C1._ • ..t were once Tulsa·s."
He chinked up Jhe craclt.s with mild by my father and his orders were to ,,-, _tlCl H. G1a&Jmlre. prealdent 'f
but the ralll3 and snow washed this destroy all he could find. Of th A
~t continuously, so when lime be. "On one occasion while he ,,-as tlon will call e merlc:an Revolu·
arne available he made a lime &nd sm8.l5hlng bottles on the depot plat- ~izaUon', a jtellnr of his or-nd
mlxlure for chinking. form. the contraband tormed rl'l'u- YJ to pi comm ttee Within a few
, "Usln, an Iron In't-'m'n' "-,.'n , ,'". !tender , ,n'hWith Endacott and ... &..II leLS along the trac4 Some a .... l~' me Cd tor carrying out
as a frow he manUfactured clap men b",land- "t down on their Pl'tIerntion "Th'•• ' ,
boards with which to cover the roof. stomachs aml"d'rank from these IIv I . """" I 0 dest
_hlllgies then being unknollm here. tie streams." f... The_':':',bune h&a been In~ted
Thtse strips were cut from what Hls faUler died In 1917. The old _ •• ~ in th16 house and C'sU commonly called board limber. home property ha.5 since tlren held J...r=~lttIldeal·Ored. throuah
~.u.ally"be,ing burr oak. The room b, ,n1, 'h,-, f-" ,_,_ B"p· , "p In' '- "'.
rv =-- .... nouagh. l1'01 ace and ""u comfortable geM sa~ ""'1lI It .. a hbtorlcal .-..I.I"
"I "'"as born In the house In 1874. nus pioneer. stili young. recalls
but I am not sure Just how long be- the coming of Jeff Archer. Hall snd
~ore that the cabin .IU built. some of the other early day builders.
L_-;;:::::-cc":;::::c::::c:;:::;::;:-::;:;:::-;::::c::-::::;;;-::::=;;:::-::::-;::::;:;:-;::;;: I b"oMty .,rua.ther's property contained fo"rAprcrOh!p.'erMgya\'enoSw50 oacncdupaiegdraybyhotrhsee
Aoon i, plctu~d Tuba', oldest hou~, still slafldin, on Sorth eln· u <.oN Bcrea. ran~ng from the American Express company on
ciumul .'-enue and to be pr~n'ed as an hl$torical relle. t.e of the present Frisco railroad Main street:· he snys.
The home. built o( lop. .....~ reared by William "Unele Bill,." BUr(eu. ~::~~nnO~h ~nd eut to wh.'!t 1$ ""He set up a shooting gallery In
.hown belo"" .t the left. who drove an 01: team Into Ibis an:tlon before the hili edl~y ~;a~~p,~ h~lIthnd a lent on the p~nt site of the
there "&!I.any hinl ot Tuba and who sen·td for 13 yurs as a membV' ~'ere In our puture. -ri.~ l.~d .;..:; Ryan Motor CO. It was near there
of the Territorial Indian police. nclosed by a rail fence .,..here I first ~w a man killed. Two
AI lht rlChl, ~lo.... Is IhO"'" Coole Burrtu. !lOU of Unele Bill,.. who ~ "Later When a sawmill' came lnt mcn were fighting and one stabbed
was born in lhls old house In 1114 The son relates In another Itof1 IDllhe eecllon 'Ie procured lumbet 0 the other. a fellow named COtton.
this paper, the hlslory of tke old home. His picture wu taken by The added two 'rooms to the eut of I TIm all the ..ay home and I donl.
Tribune photorfapher III • Tutu hospital where be Is recol'erlnr frorn Joe ~trueture and a side room on remember to this day whert Ilnd
;l broken Ie:. lie Is employed by the eUy water department. north. how I got O\'er the old wonn fcnce.
. . . . "Our home ""as a stopping place ONLl' ONE LEFT I
= ,......,. ~ " Burge~ a.!.",;:;~~~
(nJlana. cowboys. ranchers and Fr1seo tracks betwCim
Emetlme~ outlaws. The Dalton tlrst ~tock yards were along
ys and AI Jennings stoPPed b, and Detroit avenues.
aslonally:' Burgess has a sister. Mrs. Sarah
BurgeM said that he lived In the
d house JuntlJ he WILlI about 21
rs old. leaVing When he gOt mar.
la
desplte the urgIng of his tather
s Y there and farm.
He recallcd &orne or the IlcUvlties
his _father In destroyIng \l'hl~ky
un',I"l'." shipped Into tho IndIan
"I re ember distinctly II'hen the
This is a story from be}'ond the
banb of old Cat cr«k. from be}'Ond
the tracks of co\'ered. wlgOIl.S and
ox teams.
I It IS the first complete history
that has yet been publlsMd of \be
oldest. house In Tulsa and what Is
"Claimed to be the first In ",-hat U
nOT>' TulIa. buBt by William Burtess.
learlY dll1 Indian pollce ornctt.
AccorlliN- to the Hutor>' of Tulsa,
by J. ~r:'HaU. BOb chllderll built
the ftnt residl!llCl! Ilf TuLw. proper.
I • bet\\'ten ArCher
and Brady str«U. aftv 1882-~~
BU!"lCllS home ...·as M!l·en.1
ouwde the ortgtnal city lImlu but
~leS back to \.814.
Over on Norq;t Cim:lnnaU avenu~
where it climbs a ateep e:rade an
ends \bruptly at Easton street. this
ancient log structure and Its lSOm~.
what ramblln, additions. of boar .s
and ~hlnltl~ Is slo~l,'\y tolling ILS
,,'ay l.O oblivion. In a few moN'
lea~ It would be gone. Inl.O history
and the duslY reeeMC5 of memory.
W1U. BE SAVED
But thill old house is not to end
thlll$. The TUlsa chapler of Sons of
the Amcrlcan Revolution. sponlSOrlng
a program of preserving old land·
mark~ and relics, Is to lnelude this
landmark In Its rescue work.
J 0 Render. head of the Right.
way laundry and hlmM:U a pioneer
01 1'111111 hits donaled the hOUl~.
now owned by him. to the Chllp~r
for the nurpoae of Its prc!er\'atfon
to the city.
City Wal.er Commissioner Asbury
Endacott ha" offered l.O tt.ansport
the structure to city property on
reservoIr hili to r,econslruct Itft5 one
or severRI hIstorical rell~ of Tuls1\.
to be placed In the proposed park.
there.
In a Tulsft Ilospllal where he 11\
recovering from 1\ broken leg. Coole
Bllrll:ess. born In this hOUM:. recently
rclated the story of i.t., construction
by his father, Wlllhlm Burse5ll.
BurgCll8 Is employed by the city
water departmellt lllld \\"BlI tnJurcd
durlnl1: the recent cold weather
