National Register Listing

Davison Silo

20 mi. (32 km) SE of Arnett, Arnett, OK

The significance of the Davison Silo is three-fold. Of unusual design, it was constructed (and apparently designed) by a remarkable man on what was for a time one of the largest ranching operations in Oklahoma. Unused now for many years, the silo stands battered by the weather but still structurally sound - a rather striking memorial to both man and ranch.

George E. Davison came to this rolling section of northwestern Oklahoma around the turn of the century, only a decade after the Cheyenne and Arapaho lands were thrown open to non-Indian settlements. He erected a square, two-story log house (still standing and itself a rather unusual structure), and gradually began putting together a substantial farming/ ranching operation. At the time it embraced upwards of 100,000 acres of pasture and feed-grain land, owned and under the lease. From the beginning, it was not just another ranch.

Around 1915 Davison built (or had built, although it is quite likely that he contributed to both design and construction) his 14-sided wooden silo, as unusual in its way as his log ranch house. In 1921 he introduced buffalo to the ranch - or, more properly, re-introduced them, as this rugged Canadian River area of present Oklahoma had been awash with American bison barely a half-century earlier. He brought the shaggy beasts up from the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge under a formal agreement to take care of a certain number of them. (This pioneering wildlife refuge, one of the first in the country, had been established in 1905 to protect the bison from threatened extinction. Base stock, curiously enough, was a herd of 15 of the animals taken west from the Bronx Zoo.)

Davison's interest in wildlife conservation was no fleeting fancy. As time went on his ranch sheltered countless quail, prairie chickens, and wild turkeys. And while guests were welcomed the buffalo roundups were always popular with visitors - none was ever allowed to take aim on the game, in season or out. They were, however, allowed to fish in the ranch's 18 well-stocked lakes. Understandably enough, the Davison ranch was for many years a much-visited northwestern Oklahoma showplace. Davison himself played a leading role in the early history of Ellis County and served it for a time in the Oklahoma legislature.

The ranch fell on hard times during the depression years. But Francis Davison, the founder's son, managed to hold on to the original log cabin home and at least some of the land (although not the silo). With a partner, he operated much of the old ranch after his father died and carried on his father's preservation and conservation practices. It remains today a working ranch. Over the years the Francis Davisons have continued to play strong roles in the life of this predominantly agricultural area. Mrs. Davison has been widely recognized for life-long efforts in extension service and 4-H work.

Local significance of the structure:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.