Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Will Rogers Amon Carter
Will Rogers and Amon G. Carter Sr. around 1930.
Call it a cruel dichotomy.
While we here in Cowtown are dealing with the slush and sleet of a classic North Texas winter storm (we don’t get the pretty kind), California — and the Los Angeles area more specifically — is in the midst of a historic and apocalyptic-like outbreak of wildfires.
If you’ve watched or read any bit of news over the past couple of days, you’re well aware that many people — celebrities very much included — have lost their homes due to the uncontrolled blaze. But one particular home no doubt caught the attention of Fort Worthians.
According to numerous outlets, the ranch house of Will Rogers, the famed actor/vaudevillian/radio personality/humorist/social commentator/horseman/friend of Amon Carter, was destroyed late Wednesday evening.
Rogers built the home, which was part of the Will Rogers State Historic Park, in 1928. The Palisades site, along with the surrounding land and buildings, would become a state park in 1944 and added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1971. According to the park’s website, the home included a collection of Native American rugs and baskets and original works of art by Charles M. Russell and Ed Borein.
Even for those unacquainted with 1920s vaudeville or pre-code-era Hollywood flicks, the name Will Rogers will ring a bell. After all, his name is in the cultural lexicon of every Fort Worthian thanks to the Will Rogers Memorial Center, the Rosetta Stone of the city’s Cultural District. Most locals call it simply “Will Rogers.”
And to give an all-too-brief history lesson, we will have you know that Rogers was, at one time, one of the most famous people in the world. According to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum website, he was at the same instant the nation’s No. 1 radio personality, box-office draw, public speaker, and newspaper columnist. That’s akin to having over a billion TikTok followers in today’s world.
While Rogers was not a Fort Worthian, he was a dear friend of Fort Worth Star-Telegram owner and the city’s most ardent supporter, Amon Carter — the two sharing a love of cowboy culture and a knack for delivering famous witticisms. And, after Rogers’ untimely death in a 1935 plane crash, the city, with prodding from Carter, named the large complex — then built for the 1936 Frontier Centennial celebration — in honor of his friend.
There is much more to this story, which I highly recommend you read.
According to an outstanding article by John Henry, the center is “more than a memorial to one man. Will Rogers is a monument to something so much bigger and consequential: loyalty, love and friendship. That’s why it should — and will — stand forever.
We certainly wish we could say the same about the historic place Rogers called home. A tragic loss.
