Pioneer Woman Statue
Bryant Baker bronze of a frontier mother, 17 feet tall, dedicated 1930
| Address |
701 Monument Road |
The seventeen-foot bronze Pioneer Woman stands on Monument Road just west of the Marland Mansion, a frontier mother in long skirts striding forward with a child in one hand and a Bible under the other arm. The sculpture is a tribute to the women who helped settle Oklahoma Territory, and it remains one of the best-known public monuments in the state.
Beside it, the Pioneer Woman Museum (run by the Oklahoma Historical Society) documents women's history in Oklahoma from settlement to the present, with permanent and changing exhibits. Both are free to visit.
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A story
E.W. Marland sponsored a national competition for the design, inviting twelve sculptors to submit small bronze models. The models toured the United States and were exhibited at the Met, in Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles, where the public voted; Bryant Baker's "Confident" model won. The full-size bronze, cast at the Roman Bronze Works in Brooklyn, was dedicated on 22 April 1930 with Will Rogers speaking and 40,000 people in attendance.