Description:
A surprise announcement appeared in the Oct. 25, 1889 edition of the Evening Gazette, taking note of the marriage of 43-year-old financier Henry Overholser to 17-year-old Anna Ione Murphy.
“No one ever dreamed that Mr. Overholser contemplated such a thing as that. It was done and people will have to make the best of it. He not only owns the finest houses in town and is one of the best business men and a great deal better looking than the average traffic rustler, but he had captured the charming young lady whose beauty of face and character has made many a young fellow’s heart flutter.”
As the wife of a wealthy business leader, the young Mrs. Overholser soon became one of the leading socialites of the city. As such, she was expected to serve as hostess for a number of parties, receptions and dinners. The Overholser Mansion, built it 1903, served not only as a home but as a reflection of the couple’s prominent status. It became a focal point of Oklahoma City society.
In 1902, Overholser purchased three lots in Classen's Highland Park Addition (now known as Heritage Hills) and built a three-story brick-and-stone Victorian mansion. A graduate of the Kensington School in London, W.S. Matthews, designed the home with features such as ornate painted walls, stained glass windows, and turret. The twenty rooms are fitted with many original furnishings of the Overholser family, including Brussels lace curtains, English carpets and French stained glass windows.
Currently, the Overholser Mansion it is owned by the Oklahoma Historical Society. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Resources
Argo, Burnis and Kent Ruth. Oklahoma Historical Tour Guide. Carpentersville, IL: Crossroads Communications, 1992.
“Overholser Mansion.” Oklahoma Historical Society. 2007. http://www.okhistory.org/mus-sites/masnum14.htm
Rosser, Linda Kennedy. Memory Album of a Territorial Lady. Oklahoma City, OK: Bobwhite Publications, 1988.