Did you know that Lake Whitemarsh on the north border of the E.W. Marland Estate was planned and built long before the Marland Mansion was started? Marland has visions of a game refuge on the one half section of land north and east of the present day Pioneer Woman Statue site. The oil baron was planning a fairly modest hunting lodge and massive swimming pool near the crest of that hill, which is now Monument Avenue. As architects, designers and game preservations gathered offering suggestions for the land, it was discovered that the hill consisted of high quality limestone and apparently suggested as a great building material for the game lodge.
As the plans proceeded and grew proportionally, a “hole” was created near the crest of the hill. It was later suggested as a lake for the preserve. Over the next two or three years, as the opulence of the estate grew, so did the excavation. Eventually the stone was used for much of the building material, inside and out. One lake became five, and a sixth massive excavation became the double Olympic size pool on the east side of the Mansion. Much of the hand cut stone is said to have been precisely cut in the “Old Stone Barn” currently being restored on Lake Road.
Today, Lake Whitemarsh is a beautiful symbol of Marlands many “gifts” to Northern Oklahoma and Ponca City. You can also take your lawn chair to the water’s edge and watch the geese find their home.The lake is open daily and is stocked for kids fishing and hosts the Free Youth Fishing Clinic each year. To register on line for this year’s June 1 clinic, go to www.poncacityok.gov/parksandrec-registration.
