The Quanah Parker Star House in Oklahoma. Photo by Karen Reid / Wikipedia
The Comanche Nation of Oklahoma is still hoping to buy the home of famed Chief Quanah Parker. Parker built the Star House around 1890 and lived there until his death in 1911. The structure was subsequently moved to a new location in Cache, where it's fallen into disrepair, a condition exacerbated by floods this spring. Yet owner Wayne Gipson refuses to sell the house to the tribe, or anyone else, despite acknowledging he lacks funds and resources to preserve the site. Chairman Wallace Coffey is frustrated by the situation. “We are willing to work with him in any form or fashion,” Coffey told The New York Times. Coffey in fact helped secure a $15,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to assess the site and develop a stabilization plan, the Times reported. But Gipson did not appear to appreciate the attention. "I don’t know if I’m any more interested in selling now," Gipson told the paper. The tribe hopes to elevate the house at the site or possibly move it to a new location in order to preserve it for future generations. But Coffey is also considering building a replica on tribal land. “That was the only alternative I had,” Coffey told the Times. Get the Story:
In Oklahoma, Efforts to Save House of Last Comanche Chief (The New York Times 7/19)
Related Stories
Comanche Nation examines
historic lance owned by famed chief (04/07) VOA: Commanche Nation wants to buy home of Quanah Parker (10/27)
Join the Conversation
