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White Rose Cemetery By Debbie Neece
Cemeteries are full of intriguing life stories and Bartlesville’s White Rose Cemetery is certainly no exception. Jacob Bartles, namesake of the city, was the owner of a wheat field located on Cherokee Nation land southwest of current Bartlesville. His wheat harvest and milling operations became a budding enterprise. However, against his wishes but beyond his control, his wheat field became an Indian burial ground, later known as the old Indian Cemetery. George Keeler, a significant contributor to the foundation and development of Bartlesville, along with other area notables, was tasked with finding a city cemetery site in 1898 and the Indian Cemetery seemed like the natural location. The City Cemetery later became known as Union Cemetery before becoming White Rose Cemetery around 1905. Construction of the 15,000-squarefoot White Rose Mausoleum began in 1921. With ornamental leaded glass windows, bronze gates and white marble interior, the Mausoleum was dedicated in 1923. Many early Bartlesville notables now reside there, including C.E. Burlingame, Howard and Nellie (Johnstone) Cannon, Nelson and Sarah Carr, and Doctors, Clarence Howard and Sherwell Weber. One particularly interesting “resident” of the cemetery is Ernest Lewis, who once owned the Livery Stable and Uno Bar at the northwest corner of Third Street, now Frank Phillips Blvd. and Keeler Ave. When Oklahoma
became a “dry” state in 1907, the law was enforced by U.S. Marshals Fred Keeler and Frank Williams. Their intention was to shut Lewis’ bar down. A gun fight erupted and Williams and Lewis were both killed. Lewis’ wife, Julia, who later married another famed area outlaw, Emmett Dalton, buried Lewis in White Rose Cemetery with a big stone at the foot of his grave that read, “Murdered by Fred Keeler.” Later, town officials talked her into removing that stone which she promptly replaced with another: “Ernest Lewis, Killed by Fred Keeler, Nov 16, 1907.” Other significant figures laid to rest at the White Rose Cemetery and Mausoleum include U.S. Congressman, Postmaster and lawyer, William Tyndall (died 1928); Jane Phillips, wife of Frank Phillips, who was entombed in the mausoleum while the Phillips family mausoleum at Woolaroc was being constructed (died 1948); and William Wayne Keeler, who was appointed by President Harry S. Truman as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1949 (died 1987). One of the most “colorful” grave stones in the cemetery is the marker of former restaurant owners, Melvel and Lorene Murphy which reads, “Murphy’s Steak House, Home of the World Famous Hot Hamburger, Gravy Over All.” To hear more about the Murphy family legacy and others, plan to attend the 2016 White Rose Mausoleum Stories, Oct. 21 and 22 at the cemetery, located at 804 W. 11th St, just east of Virginia Avenue. This event features historical reenactors portraying earlyday Bartlesville pioneers interred at White Rose Cemetery. Proceeds benefit the White Rose Cemetery Beautification Projects. Admission is $10 at the door or free with a wristband from Main Street Bartlesville’s Ghost Walk Oct. 26 and 27. Call the White Rose office for more information. v OCTOBER 2016 | b Monthly
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