William Penn Adair Rogers, the Indian-Cowboy from the Cherokee Nation, brought joy and laughter to a generation. He traveled throughout the world entertaining king and commoner, presidents and millionaires and "folks" everywhere -- climbing to the top in every field he entered -- from wild west shows to vaudeville and Hollywood, newspapers, magazines and radio -- and was easily the most popular and best loved American of his time. Perhaps of all time.
But his heart remained in the land of his birth. Will was born in 1879, on land now inundated by Oologah Lake. The world thinks of Claremore as Will's home, but it was the ranch near Oologah where he lived when in Oklahoma. He was born here and always called it his home. In 1960, Will's birthplace was moved to a hill overlooking beautiful Oologah Lake. Currently the birthplace is open to the public to visit with the hopes that the memory of Will Rogers will linger on in the minds of oncoming generations for a long time to come.