Tucked in the woods of Osage County in northeastern Oklahoma was one man's hidden oasis. It was there that Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum Co., established in 1925 a 3,700-acre wildlife preserve that was used as a family ranch retreat. The preserve, known as Woolaroc and now including a museum, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name Woolaroc comes from the land: woods, lake, and rocks.
Currently Woolaroc is home to native wildlife such as buffalo, elk, and longhorn cattle as well as exotic birds and animals. The ranch includes a rustic lodge and the museum, which houses American artifacts and western art. The museum also holds one of the largest collections of Colt firearms in the world.
Phillips was a huge aviation enthusiast. In 1927 after Charles Lindbergh's famous flight over the Atlantic, Phillips sponsored a small, single-engine monoplane to fly from Oakland, Calif., to Honolulu. He named the plane Woolaroc, after his home retreat. When the plane was retired 2 years later, he brought the plane back to his ranch. He built a place to house the airplane, which now incorporates all of his collections in the museum.
The collections of art and American artifacts helped achieve his vision for the ranch: "preserving the history of the West that he knew as a young man."
Wildcatting days
Phillips moved to Oklahoma from Iowa in 1904, when the state was still Indian Territory. Phillips explored the Osage Hills, where the Sinclairs and the Gettys already had found oil. Phillips drilled several dry holes before making a discovery. Lot 185, near Woolaroc, would bring in about 1,000 b/d of oil. Phillips built a land position around Lot 185.
Needing more capital, Phillips looked to New York City. During many trips, he met investors as well as the woman who would become his wife and thought about moving his Bartlesville office to New York City. However, he wanted something more. He wanted something back home in Oklahoma. He respected the inhabitants of Indian Territory: the cowboys and Native Americans as well as the roughnecks and other wildcatters with whom he worked. Thus he established his estate in the land that gave him plenty.
The ranch was originally used to conduct business with stockholders and business associates. It gave visitors a way to escape the normal bustle of the business world in what has been described as "a romanticized wilderness sanctuary which he embellished with Wild West landscape images."
The lodge
Phillips hosted numerous gatherings at the lodge at Woolaroc, from intimate meetings to large parties, all oriented to business. In addition, Phillips hosted an annual picnic for the Phillips Petroleum employees. Visitors to Woolaroc included famous dignitaries, celebrities, and politicians as well as national figures Wiley Post and Will Rogers.
The most famous of the Phillips's picnics was the annual Cow Thieves and Outlaws event. As a thank-you to his Osage Hills neighbors, Phillips invited cowboys, known cow thieves, train robbers, and his local Osage Indian friends together for a day of barbeque. It was such a hit with the locals that it became an annual event.
In addition to the wild parties and business events, there were tales of famous poker games involving large stakes. Sometimes businesses, such as railroads, were getting handed over after a long night of gambling.
At the dedication of the Woolaroc Museum, Phillips said, "Those of us that have been more fortunate have a debt to society, which I believe can best be paid by training and educating the youth of the nation. I dedicate this museum to the boys and girls of today, the fathers and mothers of tomorrow. May they profit by a knowledge of man's past and be enabled to plan and live a happier future."
