Where the West Remains
Pawnee is a friendly little town with a proud past and a bright
future of renewed spirit and enthusiasm. The splendor of the old
west - cowboys and Indians are still very much alive today. The
magnificent old buildings stand today as monuments of a time gone
by. The historical pioneer days are waiting to be rediscovered.
The community is blessed with the best of churches, hospitals, museums,
many fine dining establishments, unique shops ... the year starts
with celebrations and continues throughout the spring, summer, and
fall, and ends with the "Festival of Lights" at Christmas
... and countdown to the New Year. A nice place to relax .. A friendly
place to live ... A fun place to visit ... Come see for yourself!
Home of ...
- The Pawnee Tribe of Indians - 1874
- Gordon W. Lillie (Pawnee Bill), 1883 Showman
- Chester Gould, Birthplace - 1900, Creator of the World Famous
Dick Tracy Cartoon
- Moses Yellow Horse - Only Full Blooded Native American to ever
play Major League Baseball - Pittsburg Pirates - 1922
- Hawk Chief - First person to break the 4 minute mile (unofficial)
and more ...
- Pawnee had the oldest Piggly Wiggly store in America,
- the oldest Chevrolet distributorship,
- the first Ford dealer in Oklahoma
- the first telephone in the Territory,
- and the first murder in cartoon history was committed in Pawnee,
OK at the old Fischer Bakery (in the Dick Tracy cartoon)!
Approaches:
BY CAR: North 14 miles on Oklahoma Highway 18 exiting off
the Cimarron Turnpike; 26 miles northeast of Stillwater on Oklahoma
Highway 108; 27 miles east of I-35 on U.S. 64.
BY TOUR BUS: Contact Village Tours, (phone and fax), Oklahoma
City, (Others when available).
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Pawnee
Bill Ranch
Visit the Pawnee Bill Ranch site and see some of the last
remnants of the legendary Old West. Drive through the buffalo
pasture and view buffalo, longhorn, and elk as they might
have looked to a pioneer traveling across the prairie. Walk
through the log cabin, blacksmith shop, and the Indian flower
shrine and take a walk back into time. Tour Pawnee Bill's
dream home and visualize life in 1910 Oklahoma with Pawnee
Bill memorabilia, photographs, and much more.
In 1903 Pawnee Bill purchased land from Blue Hawk, his Pawnee
friend whom he had met prior to his coming to Indian Territory
in 1879, and built a log cabin on the property for himself
and May. Their dream home was started on the highest point
of the property in 1908 and completed in 1910 when they moved
into that building and left the log cabin for ranch hands
to use. A blacksmith shop, a large goldfish pond, and an Indian
Flower shrine were also constructed on the site during those
years. A large three-story barn was added to the property
in 1926 to house Pawnee Bill's Scottish shorthorn cattle.
On Blue Hawk Peak at the west edge of Pawnee, Oklahoma, stands
a monument to Oklahoma's fabulous past. It is a huge bungalow
of rough, buff-colored stone, held together with red tile.
Its hardwood interior, selected from the rarest and most expensive
mahogany, is arranged so that the spacious rooms are thrown
together with nothing buy open arches, pillars, fretwork and
portieres to obstruct the vision. The windows, of the finest
imported beveled glass, reach to the floor.
A $100,000 Mansion, built in 1910, it stands furnished as
in the days of its completion, the living room rugged with
Oriental weavings and an occasional monster bear, buffalo,
or lion skin; its furniture leathered in red and brown to
harmonize with the dark, precious woods, a huge open fireplace
with solid bronze andirons and mantel; drop chandeliers of
diamond cut glass and gold stained frieze creeping up to an
old "Dutch ceiling. Fourteen rooms in all with walls
decorated with the most appropriate hangings and portraits.
FREE ADMISSION
Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday, 10:00 am to
5:00 pm
Sunday and Monday, 1:00 p.m.to 4:00 pm
Closed State Holidays
One half mile west of Pawnee, Oklahoma on
U.S. 64
P.O. box 493
Pawnee, OK 74058-0493
918-762-2513
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The Oklahoma
Steam & Gas Engine Show
All roads lead to Pawnee the first full weekend in May for
three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) for one of the largest
displays of the giant machines at work in the country ...
The largest in the southwest. A festival of fun, food, arts
and crafts, antiques, flea markets, parades, and entertainment.
A day in times gone by.
The Oklahoma Steam Threshing and Gas engine Association was
originally called the Oklahoma Steam Threshers association
when it was organized in Waukomis, Oklahoma in 1966. It is
a state chartered, non-profit organization dedicated to the
restoration and preservation of the history and agriculture
of the plains states. Each member owns and maintains his own
collection of equipment with restoration done throughout the
year in preparation for demonstrating the farming methods
of the early 1900s.
Admission is $5 for those over age 12, and all proceeds are
used for fuel, advertising, insurance, and building costs.
For more information
Steam Engine Show
P.O. Box 472
Pawnee, OK 74058
or
Pawnee Chamber of Commerce
918/762-2108
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The
Pawnee County Historical Society Museum
The Pawnee County Historical Society Museum presents artifacts
in several period room displays and is also the Dick Tracy
Collection Headquarters for the midwest.
Located on the west side of the Pawnee County Courthouse
Square, Downtown, Pawnee.
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The Dick
Tracy Mural
Chester Gould, creator of the Dick Tracy character, graduated
from Pawnee High School in 1919. This painting on the side
of the Prairie Rose Building in downtown Pawnee recognizes
the artist as one of Pawnee's most famous citizens. Early
characters in the strip sometimes were named after some of
his classmates.
6th and Harrison
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The
Original Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show & Festival
The 2 "Bills" were pioneers of the old west. Major
Gordon W. Lillie was given the name Pawnee Bill by the Pawnees
when he came to Indian Territory as a young boy of seventeen.
Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill rode together in what was to
be thefirst of the Wild West Shows in 1883. "The Only
Show of its Kind" - A show that once toured across America
and Europe - Thrilling young and old has now become an annual
event with a cast of 100's re-enacting the world famous Pawnee
Bill Wild West Show. Each summer the hill side on BlueHawk
Peak at the Pawnee Bill Buffalo Ranch comes alive with trick
riders, trick ropers, shootings, hangings - a battle between
the cowboys and Indians ... it's the west at its best.
In conjunction with The Pawnee Bill Wild West Show, come
downtown on the square for arts and crafts, entertainment,
and rides - Friday through Sunday. FAST DRAW COMPETITION Saturday.
The west at its best!
Third weekend in June.
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The
World's Largest Free Pow Wow
The Pawnees moved to Oklahoma Territory in 1874 and to this
day retain many of their ancestors beliefs and customs. A
ceremony for the braves who died in battle and honoring the
returning warriors has become the "World's Largest 'Free'
Pow Wow."
* Most colorful outdoor spectacle in America
* Four nights - Thursday through Sunday
* Native costumes, snake dances, eagle dances, and much more
* Parade in downtown Pawnee - Saturday at noon
* Its all FREE
Weekend of the 4th of July each year - Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday
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Rodeo
Week
Become a part of the cattle drive and wagon trains, judge
the chili and barbecue cook-offs, buy some cowboy crafts,
and enjoy rides and games...
AND the toughest sport in the country - Bulls, broncs and
beauties; clowns, kids, and cowboys - Wild cow milkin', wild
horse racin', wild? sheep ridin' ... It's fun, it's exciting,
it's RODEO!
August each year, a weekend of family entertainment, 3 big
nights; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Cook-off and parade
downtown, Saturday.
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Pawnee
Tribal Headquarters and School
The town of Pawnee, Oklahoma, was first a trading post on
Bear Creek, and then the agency for the Pawnee tribe after
their removal from Nebraska.
The 646 acre Pawnee Tribal Reserve is home for the Pawnee
Tribe Agency offices. The old Pawnee Indian School buildings,
most of which have been restored, are being used by the Tribe.
All of these buildings are on the National Register of Historic
Buildings. The Tribal Hospital, now just a clinic, is still
in use. The grounds also contain the new roundhouse and campgrounds,
that are used for the Tribes dances and
gatherings.
An Indian Agency Monument honors the Pawnee Nation's orginal
tribal leaders, and a marker tells tales of the tribe's early
hardships.
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WPA Historic
Bathhouse
One can almost hear the summertime laughter echoing through
the various levels and verandas of this uniquely designed
bathhouse carved from native stone in 1939 by President Franklin
Roosevelt's WPA public works program. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
It now serves as part of the Outdoor Classroom of the Environmental
Education Center located at Pawnee Lake.
State Highway 18, North of Pawnee
Turn left after crossing the dam
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Rough
Rider Monument
Dedicated to Roosevelt's Rough Riders buried at a nearby cemetery,
this is the only monument dedicated to the Rough Riders in
Oklahoma.
Located in the Highland Cemetery
3 miles north of Pawnee on Hwy 18.
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