Quanah Parker Star House

Today 5/13/2023 we took a trip up to Medicine Park Oklahoma, we stopped at Cache to see Quanah Parkers Star home. Sadly the proprietor of this property has let this beautiful historic building fall into a state of disarray.. The building is listed in the oklahoma historic home registry.. But since it is on private land there's not much they can do to preserve it until the owner decides to let them renovate it.. In order to do that he has to relinquish control of the building which he is not ready to part with. We showed up early in the morning when we thought he was opened, he told us to come back at 2 PM and wait until all the customers who were eating at the diner were finished and then he would escort us to the property... So at two pm, we came back and we waited over one hour and twenty minutes for one diner to finish his meal. We had to make a donation to see the property... So after a short ride to the back of the property and several gates he escorted us to the home of the legendary Commanche Indian Chief Quanah Parker. We actually considered ourselves very lucky because not many people get to see this... So he told us a few stories of the property and how it came to be in his possession... I really wish this building could be preserved because there's so much wonderful history here and sadly. It has been taken over by time mother nature and vandals... He could very easily let the state turn it into a State run monument... But again he does not want to relinquish control... He has the desire to fix it up but does not have the money.... There was only one side of the home where we could see the original stars.. The rest of the house is truly falling apart, the roof is collapsing, doors and widows kicked in and busted. We were not allowed to go inside because it has been flooded and vandals have taken their toll and it's really falling apart badly... So we truly believe this may have been our only opportunity to see this house before it goes away forever... This is as it is today 5/13/2023 :(
PRO TIP ...... WEAR PANTS ..... TICKS WERE VERY BAD ... I wore shorts and constantly pulled them off my legs !!!

It's absolutely amazing to visit but it is on private property. So you risk breaking the law if you go.

We saw StarHouse. The house will probably colaspe in the near future. Comanche Community should invest money to preverve house. They make millions of dollars with their casinos. It is very sad that they don t take care of their heritage.

I recently did a motorcycle tour of Quanah's wanderings: Adobe Walls, Palo Duro Canyon, the final resting place of Quanah, Cynthia Ann and Prairie Flower at Ft Sill, etc, and of course had to pay homage to the Star House at Cache, OK. If you treat the owner of the trading post with a modicum of respect instead of like you're just another self centered tourist, he will respond in kind. This is not the place to discuss the politics of the area and the warring factions that would control it, just enjoy it for what it is: the incredible home of the Last War Chief of the Comanche. See you on the road...

Ok, so I've never visited this place personally but I would love to! I know I should have family near here if they are related to Quanah Parker, I am Quanah Parker's great great great great Grandson and I just want to see who else is related to him

Haven't been there yet but hope somehow they'll restore it to proper condition again.

Please allow this place to recieve the restoration it deserves!

Too old

Beautiful clean

So after reading Empire of the Summer Moon and discovering the Star House was still standing, a road trip to Cache was necessary. If you want the tour it’s important to know that they start after 2pm and you must go through the owner of the trading post. Wayne Gibson, the owner, gives a unique yet detailed tour and experience (after 2pm). The grounds are cluttered with relics from different eras and all are in major disrepair. Such a historic home, it’s sad to see in this condition, however learning from Wayne the politics of inside the Comanche tribe is indifferent on the restoration of the house. The other buildings on the property are full of antiques and time period pieces as well but are not accessible to walk through. It is also important to note that the Star House has been moved twice from its original location and has never actually been properly restored, so there is a lot of rotting taking place.

We had a lovely tour yesterday of the Quannah Parker Star House. If you want to visit you need to go to the Trading Post after 2:00 pm to arrange a tour. The tour is free, however, donations are accepted. I hope that all who visit make a donation to help preserve this wonderful piece of history. Also, great coffee and hospitality at the Trading Post restaurant.

Thank you Mr. Gipson for taking the time out and giving us a tour.
If you want to take a tour you have to go to the Trading Post and ask.

UPDATE: I just learned the Star House is about to fall down. I am devastated Gipson will not allow restoration.NOW I read that 3 months ago the roof has become tarp covered & vandals had ransacked it. WHAT'S WRONG WITH GIPSON? He seemed to be an honest man but he is terribly bullheaded about losing ownership of it. Why can't someone make him an offer he can't refuse? He could sell that Trading Post or renovate it into a first class roadhouse! I am devastated the Star House continues to deteriorate! Gipson took me thru the house in 2014 & I have over 30 photos of the insides. NOW currently: roof is caving in ruining the furniture that was in fair condition. Doesn't the STATE of OK understand what a treasure they are losing? Teddy Roosevelt stayed at the STAR HOUSE & loved & respected Quanah Parker! The last free warrior chief of our history!
I have been inside the Star House & all around it before it was in the pitiful condition it's in now. Gipson who now is its sole owner is very protective unless someone wants to restore it while he retains ownership. Folks willing to restore it want to move it & Gipson will not allow it to be moved again. Quanah's family does not own it any longer. Ft. Sill was firing artillery in its direction. They moved it so it wouldn't be destroyed but moved it to the side of a road & dumped it. They didn't hook up electricity nor plumbing. It sat on the side of the road for years. Quanah's descendants, mainly elderly females lived in it until they were told again that it had to be moved or it would be torn down. A non-native friend, Gipson's uncle, told the ladies he would buy it, move it but he was going to give them a place to stay in Cache. It sits in back of the Trading Post. You can't go in to see it any longer is what I heard. Luckily about 10 years ago, my friend Pam & I convinced the nephew, now the owner to let us see it. First we bought a ton of stuff in his store. We filled our tank w/gas & gave him money because he had to close his store. It was magical. He loosened up a bit after he saw we were compassionate about respecting the place. We got INSIDE; he took us thru all the rooms except the upstairs bc the stairs were not stable. The porches around the upstairs were falling; wood was rotting. He told us the history of how it got there. He told us about Quanah's life there and how he had the 5 stars painted on the roof for President Teddy Roosevelt. When Quanah went to Washington D. C. the prez set up his powwow in a 4 star hotel. When Roosevelt came to OK to designate the 1st US Wilderness Area , Quanah told him he would be staying in a 5 star house, better than the 4 star hotel in D.C. They were true friends & Roosevelt funded the Wilderness Area for eternity~a gorgeous area complete with buffalo & wildlife, west of Cache in the Quartz Mtns.Why can't some of the money made in the casinos be designated to help save Quanah's home? Is it because they did not respect Quanah because he was not 100% native? His mother was the famously abducted Cynthia Ann Parker who was taken from Fort Parker near Mexia, TX when she was 9 yrs old. Cynthia was mistreated at first but then she began to blend in with the tribe. Her blonde hair & blue eyes made her stand out but her skin became so tanned from the sun that she felt like a true Comanche. She fell in love with & married a Comanche warrior chief and had two children; Quanah and a girl, Periwinkle/Prairie Flower. Some say she had more children. Texas Rangers spotted Cynthia during a raid & took her & her baby to the grounds of a govt agency in north TX & asked her to return to her Parker family near Mexia. She refused. She wanted to go back to her tribe. The govt said no. She mourned and begged to be returned but they refused to allow her to go back. The stories say she mourned herself to death after her baby girl became very sick & died. Quanah, with the clear blue eyes of his mother, became the last free warrior chief in the USA. His mother is buried next to him near Ft. Sill. His Star House is a national treasure in ruin.