The Cherokee Kid - Oologah, OK - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

In the very center of the intersection of Cooweescoowee Avenue and Maple Street in downtown Oologah stands a remarkable sculpture to the town's "hometown hero" Will Rogers (1879-1935).

This sculpture was commissioned in 1992 and dedicated on August 12, 1995. Sculptress Sandra Van Zandt has created this everyday scene out of bronze and it stands on a brick base with a flagstone floor. The sculpture is approximately 6ft x 10ft x 4-1/2ft with a 3ft x 11ft base. It is a lifesized rendition of Will Rogers in his early days, with his horse, Comanche. Comanche is bending to drink from the town fountain and Will is standing alongside him with a coiled rope in his left hand and scratching his head with his right.

On a plaque at the front of the base, the inscription reads: "The Cherokee Kid/ A monument to Will Rogers.

The plaque at the rear of the base reads: "The Cherokee Kid/ A monument to Will Rogers/ William Penn Adair Rogers was born Nov. 4, 1879/ at the family ranch headquarters northeast of Oologah./ He died on Aug. 15, 1935, near Point Barrow, Alaska/ Sculpted by/ Sandra Van Zandt/ Commissioned by the/ Oologah Historical Society/ (list of officers follows)/ Unveiled August 12, 1995."

Will Rogers was Cherokee, born and lived in Oologah. He was well-loved by many, a writer and entertainer. Most of the cost of the $100,000 statue was donated by individuals and businesses. The pump portrayed is an authentic type used in the town in the early 20th Century. Water ejects through the pump into a flagstone trough on the base. The sculpture is entitled "The Cherokee Kid," after the name of a biography written by David Randolph Milsten.

TITLE: The Cherokee Kid ARTIST(S): Sandra Van Zandt DATE: 1995 MEDIUM: Bronze CONTROL NUMBER: OK000230 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: In the center of the intersection of Cooweescoowee Avenue and Maple Street in downtown Oologah, OK DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: None noted

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