By Debbie Neece
Local historian, Bartlesville Area History Museum
For many years, Bartlesville has been called the City of Legends. Why? Because this City was founded by men of outstanding vision and character — entrepreneurs who arrived in Indian Territory with not one skill but a multitude.
Among the earliest pioneers was Nelson Franklin Carr, a Civil War veteran and Bartlesville founding father who brought the first mechanized enterprise to Indian Territory.
Carr built a water-powered gristmill at the horseshoe bend of the Caney River, which he sold to Jacob Bartles, and then Carr began the next chapter of his life: building a family, ranching, farming and oil interests. Carr was truly an adaptable pioneer who let no stumbling block deter him. And yet, true notoriety escaped him. For all of Carr’s pioneering contributions, he has become the “Forgotten Pioneer.”
In 1966, the Oklahoma Historical Society and the State Highway Commission placed a highway marker at the location of the Carr-Bartles Millsite which reads, “Site immediately north of here in the Cherokee Nation, in 1870, Nelson F. Carr erected a grist mill on the Caney River.” The Delawares had also settled in this region. The mill was sold to Jacob Bartles, who added a flour mill and had a store near in 1878. The settlement soon spread south to higher ground — the beginning of Bartlesville.
There is an immense history embedded in Washington County’s Caney River. During the recent replacement of the Highway 123 Caney River Bridge, many residents felt great loss. However, the new bridge and the park-like setting long the river dam area is a refreshing place to visit.
In collaboration of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, City of Bartlesville staff and Oklahoma Sen. Julie Daniels, we have been able to recognize Nelson Carr by dedicating the new Highway 123 Caney River Bridge as the Nelson F. Carr Memorial Bridge.
Please join Carr family descendants and friends at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Hensley Blvd., Sept. 2 at 1 p.m., for Nelson Carr’s 180th birthday celebration, when we will unveil his state highway marker dedicating this new chapter of Caney River history in recognition of the Nelson F. Carr Memorial Bridge.