VZ_ Ranch House
The Tyler Mansion on the Prairie was build in 1895.
Trees and shrubs around the house would have provided cover for marauding Indians
that frequented the area in those early years. The house was built of native sandstone
that was quarried nearby. Little Ollie was about 5-years-old when the house was under
construction. Somehow he fell under one of the wagons hauling stone to the construction
site, and both legs were broken. While the bones knitted he couldn't walk, so they put the
little boy on a horse in the morning, and there he stayed till evening. The horse was his legs.
In the early 1900s, the family opted for the comforts and convenience of town.
They migrated north to Guymon in the center of the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Ollie stayed behind to run the ranch. He used to tell that the ruts in the road
got so deep that he could drive most of the way to town without having to steer the car!
Tired of riding, he'd sometimes get out and walk beside the car.
Although the house didn't have running water, the house did have a bathroom on the main floor.
They had a bath tub, lavatory, and toilet. With no sewer, the toilet waste had to be emptied
from out doors from a chamber under the house.
The house had a nearly full-size basement that was used for recreation
— a full-size billiard table was down there —
and butchering beef for the table.
Carcasses were hung from a support beam.
New in June 2002: Click the links below to see the house plans.
Page last updated June 8, 2002.
