Description:
Charles Francis Colcord was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1859. His father was a Confederate colonel during the Civil War and fled the Reconstruction of the Old South, leaving his prosperous estate behind. Landing in Texas in 1872, Colcord learned the value of hard work on the family’s ranch. In 1889, he participated in the famous Land Run and claimed a lot in the new Oklahoma City. The charismatic Kentuckian was quickly elected the city’s first police chief and later became the first county sheriff when the county was organized in 1890. Taming the lawless new town was no easy feat, but Colcord quickly won the respect of the city’s early leaders. In 1893, Colcord made the run for the Cherokee Strip and claimed land in the new town of Perry. He operated a ranch there and joined Bill Tilghman and others as a deputy U. S. marshal until 1900 when he moved back to Oklahoma City. Colcord quickly built a large fortune through real estate dealings and soon desired a home worthy of his station. Writing in his autobiography in 1932, Colcord said, “I bought the entire block in which I now live from Boston Cohen for $2500…and in 1903 I built a replica of my old home and birthplace in Kentucky at 421 West Thirteenth, where I have lived ever since.” In 1904 he ventured into oil prospecting, eventually opening the world-famous Glenn Pool near Tulsa from which flowed phenomenal wealth. In later life he became active in civic leadership and served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Oklahoma Historical Society from 1926 until his death in 1934. The mansion, a neo-classical design featuring the Georgian columns popular among antebellum Southern plantations, became a city landmark for many years and was known as one the finest homes in the city. The first streetcar line made its way in front of the house and many a sightseer marvelled at the home’s elegance. The home was purchased by Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company in 1951 and the company preserved the home as its offices until 1964 when it was destroyed to make way for a modern office building. As devastating as this action was to the city, it was the rally point for historical preservationists and thanks to a sympathetic municipal government, a historical preservation zone was established and the area known today as Heritage Hills was formed in 1969.
FURTHER READING
Blackburn, Bob L. Heritage Hills:Preservation of a Historic Neighborhood, Oklahoma City: Western Heritage Books, 1990.
Colcord, Charles Francis. The Autobiography of Charles Francis Colcord, 1859-1934, Tulsa, Okla.: C. C. Helmrich, 1970.
Goins, Charles R. and John W. Morris. Oklahoma Homes Past and Present, Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980.
Kerr, William F. The Story of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Chicago: Clarke Publishing, 1922.