Million Dollar Elm

Osage County · on grounds of Osage Nation campus in Pawhuska

The Osage Nation held the first public auction sale for oil leases on reservation tracts on November 11, 1912. Early sales were held under this elm tree. Bidders sat on bleachers around the tree and the auctioneer, Colonel E. Walters, ‘cried’ the sales. A total of 16 160-acre tracts leased for a bonus of over $1 million. Thus, this tree under which these high bids were made became known as the “Million Dollar Elm.”

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Oklahoma Historical Society, Historical Marker Program. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's marker database, reproduced with the Society's written permission.
Sponsored by Harry G. Benson and Family
This marker on the program's own site

More markers nearby

Oil in the Osage Indian Nation and the “Million Dollar Elm”under 1 mi
St. Louis School for Osage Indian Girlsunder 1 mi
Osage Agencyunder 1 mi
The Battle of Wooster Mound4 mi

On the National Register nearby

Osage Agency120 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.