Forgotten Landmark-Goodholm House, Oklahoma City (OK)

Construction was started in 1899 by Andrew Goodholm, one of the first millers in Oklahoma City. He was also a city councilman, builder, developer, lumber dealer and an officer of the first packing plant. Goodholm was organizer of the Acme Milling Company, an early flour mill, and headed a company that built the original Sears Roebuck & Company store which has been demolished by urban renewal. As a director of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Goodholm had a hand in early development of several industries in the city and state. He served two terms on the City Council.

Goodholm’s house later was acquired by another builder, the late Manzy Leon Jones, whose general construction company erected a number of residences and commercial buildings in Oklahoma City. Jones and his wife, Gracelyne, owned the house from 1955 until it was sold in 1977 to Fentriss Sound Company.

James Fentriss was eager to have the house preserved and offered it to any group which agreed to move and restore it to its original splendor.  In the event there were no takers, the building was to be razed to make room for commercial development. Sandy Saunders, State Fair President, proposed moving the house to the Fairgrounds for preservation and to illustrate an example of life in the Capitol City at the turn of the century. Other uses for the house included a museum, teaching tool for children in history, and the creation of a preservation laboratory in conjunction with the Preservation Office of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The house was moved from the State Fair Park in 2008 to this location in Nicoma Park.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form