Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park

Nine painted stories rise from the back of a giant turtle in a field east of Route 66. Ed Galloway began the park after retiring to this property in 1937, carrying decades of woodworking, blacksmithing, and manual-arts teaching into concrete. Between 1937 and 1948 he built the main hollow structure from local red sandstone, steel, wood, and a thick concrete skin, then covered it with hundreds of bas-relief birds, animals, portraits, shields, and symbols arranged toward the four directions. The imagery draws from postcards and magazines and mixes Northwest Coast, Alaska Native, and Plains references; read it as Galloway’s 20th-century folk-art interpretation, not as one tribe’s traditional monument.The tall centerpiece is only the opening chapter. Smaller Arrowhead, Birdbath, and Tree totems, fish-shaped gates, a concrete fireplace, and picnic tables turn the grounds into Oklahoma’s oldest and largest surviving folk-art environment. The eleven-sided Fiddle House holds many of Galloway’s hand-built instruments and other objects. After his death, weather and neglect threatened the work; long restoration campaigns by the Rogers County Historical Society, the Kansas Grassroots Arts Association, conservators, engineers, and local caretakers returned color and structural stability without pretending the place had never aged.The Society currently lists free park access every day from dawn to dusk. The Fiddle House museum and gift shop have a different schedule: daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m., March through December. Call 918-283-8035 before a long detour or if the interior matters. Follow current restoration closures, keep off every sculpture and turtle base, supervise children, leave picnic areas clean, and ask staff before close-up interior photography. Admission is free, but this Pass promises no merchandise, guided tour, reserved picnic space, or partner benefit. More

Nine painted stories rise from the back of a giant turtle in a field east of Route 66. Ed Galloway began the park after retiring to this property in 1937, carrying decades of woodworking, blacksmithing, and manual-arts teaching into concrete. Between 1937 and 1948 he built the main hollow structure from local red sandstone, steel, wood, and a thick concrete skin, then covered it with hundreds of bas-relief birds, animals, portraits, shields, and symbols arranged toward the four directions. The imagery draws from postcards and magazines and mixes Northwest Coast, Alaska Native, and Plains references; read it as Galloway’s 20th-century folk-art interpretation, not as one tribe’s traditional monument.The tall centerpiece is only the opening chapter. Smaller Arrowhead, Birdbath, and Tree totems, fish-shaped gates, a concrete fireplace, and picnic tables turn the grounds into Oklahoma’s oldest and largest surviving folk-art environment. The eleven-sided Fiddle House holds many of Galloway’s hand-built instruments and other objects. After his death, weather and neglect threatened the work; long restoration campaigns by the Rogers County Historical Society, the Kansas Grassroots Arts Association, conservators, engineers, and local caretakers returned color and structural stability without pretending the place had never aged.The Society currently lists free park access every day from dawn to dusk. The Fiddle House museum and gift shop have a different schedule: daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m., March through December. Call 918-283-8035 before a long detour or if the interior matters. Follow current restoration closures, keep off every sculpture and turtle base, supervise children, leave picnic areas clean, and ask staff before close-up interior photography. Admission is free, but this Pass promises no merchandise, guided tour, reserved picnic space, or partner benefit. More