DATES: 1927-1947
CREATOR: Graham, Grif
EXTENT: 1 approximately 15” x 11” x 3 ½” scrapbook
SCOPE: This collection contains a personal scrapbook compiled by Grif Graham, who was an sheriff in Washington County, Oklahoma and the first ranch manager of Frank Philips’ Woolaroc. The contents of this scrapbook largely document Grif Graham’s time at Woolaroc, a 3700 acre ranch in Osage County, Oklahoma, just outside Bartlesville. Dates begin in 1927 and go into the late 1930s, with a few later pieces following his death in 1947 added afterwards. Content includes newspaper and other publication clippings, original correspondence, original documents, original typescript poems and short stories by Grif Graham, photographs, postcards, and other print materials.
Grif Graham, while working as the ranch manager at Woolaroc, worked with the owner of the ranch (Frank Philips) to create a community that joined aging outlaws, western show performers, lawmen, oilers, and others to celebrate western frontier heritage specific to the culture of Oklahoma. This scrapbook provides primary source materials about for the Woolaroc Ranch, an important Oklahoma and Western American landmark.
ACCESS: This is collection M-698. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.
RESTRICTIONS: None
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is “From the Special Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.”
INVENTORY:
Series 1: Scrapbook (newspaper clippings, original photographs, correspondence, documents, original typescript poems and short stories by Graham, other print materials), 1927-1947
Series 2: Loose items
- Three correspondences in original envelopes. Two addressed to Grif Graham and one addressed to Mrs. Grif Graham
- 12 sheets of newsprint
- Two photographs with correspondence attached to the back (look to have come loose from the pages of the scrapbook)
