Ingram House - Cache, OK - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Statement of Significance:

Before Europeans reached the area which is now Oklahoma, the Wichita people inhabited the area of the Wichita Mountains. In the last quarter of the nineteen century the Kiowa and Comanche tribes were moved to a reservation in this area. As it became evident that the frontier was closing, white settlers increased their demands for the opening of Indian lands. The area of the Wichitas was not broken up for settlement, however, as the leases of the grazing land to Texas cattlemen prevented this.
At the turn of the century the efforts of the Oklahoma City Commercial Club, with its many influential civic leaders, persuaded the Oklahoma congressional delegation to support conservation efforts for the Wichita Mountains. The area was proclaimed the Wichita Forest Reserve in 1901 and a National Game Preserve in 1905.
It was on the edge of this preserve that Earl Ingram lived with his family and built his cobblestone ranch house. Ingram was a civil service employee at Fort Sill, and he reported that he constructed his home in "his time off." The stones and the sand used for mixing the cement were all available on his half section of ranch land. The lumber used in the building was purchased from Jones Lumber Company in nearby Cache. The Ingram family lived in a small house just to the north of the present structure during its construction. The house was built in 1928, and the Ingrams lived in it until 1942.
In that year emergency war time legislation resulted in Fort Sill taking the Ingram property to extend the artillery range. Then, after the war, the land was passed to the Fish and Wildlife Department in a land exchange. The Ingram House served as a refuge employee T s residence until 1967, and was also used as a highway engineer’s office. However, it has been vacant in recent years.
The Ingram House represents the style of architecture popular in this region of Oklahoma at the time of its construction. The Ingrams used the materials that were available from their land, the native stone and materials for mixing cement. The Ingram House is also a symbol of the ranching industry, which has been such an important factor in the development of Oklahoma.


Physical Appearance:

The Ingram House exterior is native stone (granite) slabs set on edge in mortar on the north, east and south walls. The west wall iB: mainly cobblestone. These walls are a combination of stone backed up with poured concrete, which was a typical method of construction at the time this structure was built. Roof construction is wood frame with composition shingles. Several rooms comprise the first floor level. Two major rooms on the second floor and a small basement make up space elements for the rest of the house. A detached garage with several adjacent foundations of structures now gone are to the north, west and south of the building.
The structure has decorative stone work over each window and arch. A dormer extends from the roof, and a shed roof covers the porch. The fire place is expressed on the east elevation with a tall chimney
capped out with different colored stone. All windows are double-hung. The openings on the porch are arched.
Orientation of the Ingram House front is to the east where visitors entered a porch before going on through the entry hall. Trees on the south and west of the house insured welcome shade during the hot days of summer and early fall seasons.
Medicine Park is located six and: a half miles east of the Ingram House where many specimens of cobblestone construction may be examined. The Ingram House is an outstanding example of the stone and cobblestone type of construction that was prevalent in this part at Oklahoma.

Street address: NW of Cache Cache, OK USA County / Borough / Parish: Comanche Year listed: 1981 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Agriculture, Architecture Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Vacant/Not in Use Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/21/2015 TheRadcliffs visited it