President's House, University of Oklahoma

401 W. Boyd St., Norman, OK
Solid, genteel, and comfortably conventional, the University of Oklahoma's "White House" might well serve as a symbol of Sooner State intellectual life. For more than half a century, from its corner site overlooking the campus, it housed the president of the state's primary institution of higher learning. Today, excellently maintained, it continues to serve the university as a setting for conferences, seminars, and a variety of other official and semi-official meetings.

The house was built around 1903 as a private residence by Dr. David Ross Boyd, president of the university when it opened its doors in 1892 with himself and three others as the entire faculty. In 1914 the property was purchased by the State of Oklahoma as official residence for the president. The sale called for the exchange of a piece of state-owned school land for the home property, together with a 60-acre tract adjacent to the campus. Every subsequent president of the university lived in the home until 1968, when another property was purchased and the "White House" was put to new uses.

From the beginning the gracious home -- which by 1920 had acquired its present size and classic lines -- has hosted a cross-section of state, national, and world notables as business, politics, culture -- and pleasure -- brought them to Oklahoma. And as they have brought onto the campus, from the outside, the varied aspects of their own backgrounds and careers, so have they taken away with them a keener awareness of life on the Oklahoma campus and perhaps a better understanding of that segment of Oklahoma's heritage being studied, preserved, interpreted, disseminated -- and, of course, added to -- by the diverse activities of a major university.

Overnight guests through the years have included all the governors of Oklahoma and the presidents of many other universities, from Dr. David Starr Jordan, Stanford's first, to the heads of the other schools of Oklahoma's Big Eight conference, including Dr. Milton Eisenhower. Other notables entertained at the White House" include poets Edgar Lee Masters, Carl Sandburg, and Sir Rabindranath Tagore, scientists Dr. Niels Bohr and Sir Alexander Fleming, evangelist Billy Graham and screen star Van Heflin, philanthropist E. DeGolyer and band leader John Philip Sousa, and such political figures as Ex-Presidents William Howard Taft and Harry Truman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Lord and Lady Halifax.

Yet another function of the president's house over the years has been to serve as congenial meeting place for groups, not of those already in positions of influence and important -- like legislators, civic and business loaders -- but of students perhaps destined to assume such positions. Both Dr. William B. Bizzell, president from 1924 to 1942, and Dr. George Cross, president from 1944 to 1968, had a President's Class or President's Leadership Class of selected honor students. These met regularly, especially during President Bizzell's ora, in the home of the president, where the young, potential leaders were not only exposed to a smattering of the knowledge and culture of the past, but permitted to absorb something of the personality and character of the president -- and his wife -- in the intimacy of their home. As an "alumnus" of one such class, the preparer of this nomination can attest to the intellectual stimulation of this contact and the tremendous opportunity it provided for growth and maturity. A dozen to two dozen individual youths were involved each year, for many years. To the extent it served as setting for the se contacts, and enriched them, the "White House" of the university, in this one function alone, has made a great contribution to the growth and development of Oklahoma.
Local significance of the building:
Education

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.

Loading...
Searching for other points of interest within 3 miles of this location.
The state capital of Oklahoma is Oklahoma City, which was settled in 1889 during the Land Run of 1889, when settlers rushed to stake their claim on land that had previously been reserved for Native American tribes.
Cleveland County, located in central Oklahoma, has a rich history that stretches back thousands of years. Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Caddo, Wichita, and Osage. These tribes were primarily hunter-gatherers and lived off the land, relying on the region's diverse wildlife and fertile soil.

In the early 1800s, European settlers began to arrive in the region. The United States government negotiated numerous treaties with the Native American tribes, leading to the forced removal of many tribes to the Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. This opened up the area for further settlement, and pioneers began to establish homesteads and small towns.

The establishment of the Land Run of 1889 played a significant role in the county's development. Thousands of people flocked to the region, aiming to claim free land as part of the government's plan to encourage settlement. The town of Norman, now the county seat, was established during this time. It quickly grew into a thriving community with schools, businesses, and institutions, including the University of Oklahoma.

Throughout the 20th century, Cleveland County experienced various economic and cultural changes. The discovery of oil in the county in the 1920s led to an economic boom, attracting new industries and residents. The University of Oklahoma flourished and became a renowned institution in the fields of academics and sports. Today, Cleveland County continues to be a vibrant and diverse community, known for its rich history, educational institutions, and strong sense of community.

This timeline provides a condensed summary of the historical journey of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

  • 1844: Cleveland County founded as a part of Cherokee Indian territory
  • 1889: Land Run opens the region for settlement
  • 1890: Cleveland County officially organized with Norman as the county seat
  • 1902: University of Oklahoma established in Norman
  • 1931: Lake Thunderbird State Park opened for public use
  • 1952: Moore Air Base (now Tinker Air Force Base) established
  • 1999: Moore tornado, one of the deadliest tornadoes in US history, strikes Cleveland County
  • 2020: Celebrating over 130 years since the establishment of Cleveland County