Built: 1932 Abandoned: 2002
The Preachers Wall Mansion is the first of three abandoned mansions, five total on the Red Ridge Mansions property. This was the home of Archibald C. and Sarah S. Edwards, Archibald was the son of RJ Edwards.
This was the first home built on the property in 1932. Sarah had given her new husband Archibald some King Alfred Daffodils as a Christmas gift for their first year of marriage. They were planted in 1931 along the drive leading to the spot where the newlyweds planned to build the home that would become Preachers Wall in 1932. Allegedly, architect Perry Maxwell, who was well-known in the area for designing two golf course clubhouses, was the one to build the house using Archibald’s design. His inspiration for the stone design came from the small, red stone houses near where Frontier City was later built. He and his wife Sarah often rode horses in that area during their courtship.
The rock for the house was quarried from the still extant pit at the foot of the front lawn. The pit was ringed with informally stacked red rocks and at one end a fish pond about ten feet in length was constructed. It had a cement bottom and still more of the red rocks formed a border. A stand of bamboo grew at one edge.
Mary D. Edwards, Daughter of Arch and Sarah recalled a memory when part of Preachers Wall Mansion was being built, “My mother told me once that when the western wing was being added to Preachers Wall, she looked at the scaffolding one day and saw my elder brother Hilary, then about three, gamboling upon it, two stories above the ground. She was frantic with fear at the sight of him. But he survived and is living in Paris today!”
Archibald Edwards was a man of many talents, he was the organizer of family vacations, making sure to take notes about every potential vacation destination. He also kept individual file folders on each state with plenty of fascinating pamphlets and maps. For years, he authored a publication called The Pagan Century, sent regularly to several hundred friends and acquaintances, which addressed subjects such as theater, classical music concerts, and ballet in the Southwestern area. He worked with several architects designing small buildings. He also had the hobby of creating masks.
But arguably one of Uncle Archie’s favorite things as George referred to him, was caring for the daffodils. Reminder his wife gave these to him as a Christmas present during their first year of marriage. But daffodils easily duplicate every few years so the property around Preachers Wall mansion was filled with them.
Gypsy Hogan, a former writer for The Daily Oklahoman, commented some of her memories on this post. “I was friends with Archibald through St. Paul’s. I wrote the article about him and his daffodils that first appeared in The Oklahoman, but he later told me appeared in Europe where it was seen by family, so he joked that I made him famous.” This intrigued me greatly so I hunted down the article to share with you all here.
Farmer’s’ Hobby Springs Into Acres Of Daffodils By Gypsy Hogan April 2, 1995 – I’m a very lazy person, ” he likes to tell people in his grand storyteller mode. “I like to fish, but only for trout, and only in a clear stream with a dry fly, ” says the man who observes such proprieties as always wearing a jacket and tie. “I like to shoot, but only doves because you don’t have to get up early, sit in the cold or have a dog.”
And he likes to raise daffodils, thousands of daffodils, acres of daffodils. Daffodils that remind him of spring time past and promise more to come. Of friends and family, some of whom are still alive. Through the years, Archibald Edwards has become known for his love of fine wines and foreign films; for his life-long devotion to his church, St. Paul’s Cathedral; for his work in the family business, R.J. Edwards Inc.; and for numerous other endeavors.
But his big splash comes each spring. The first daffodils on his estate, the Preachers Wall Mansion, were the King Alfred variety planted in 1931. Since then other varieties have been added by Edwards’ mother, brought from Louisiana at the turn of the century as a new bride moving to Oklahoma. Those sentimental bulbs were later moved to the family home on NW 10, then to the Red Ridge Mansion that his parents built on acreage adjoining Preachers Wall today.
The family as a whole planted and spread daffodils and other flowers throughout the original 265-acre area. Each spring, Edwards carefully watches for the thicker clumps of flowers, then waits for the proper time to roll up his sleeves in a labor of love. “Every five years, you have to separate, ” he said, noting that about 40 bulbs will be in each hefty clump. Through division, redistribution and the passing of time, the bulbs have moved in splendor across the Edwardses’ fields.
With their proliferation, Edwards has come to give thousands of the bulbs to friends and charities, including Oklahoma City Beautiful. About 10,000 bulbs were redistributed last year, each recipient being carefully instructed in the Edwardses’ triangular replanting method. That’s where one slips a spade into the ground, drops in a bulb, turns to the right for another planting, then to the left, then moves over and around for a repeat of the three-step process.
“Never plant in rows,” he cautions, warning about the harshness of such an unnatural look. “Plant in clumps, under trees, where they have nice composition. Or plant in curving swaths through a field, but keep the effect flowing.” And, when you pick daffodils, he advises moderation. A handful of the beautiful flowers is “just a blob of color,” he says in the way one might characterize something as being vulgar and overdone. Pick just two or three for a well-arranged study, the ardent beholder advises. A single daffodil, after all, is a thing of great beauty, a lasting memory.
Mary D. Edwards continues to recount her fond childhood at the home. “We used to “fish” for crawdads when we were young, using kite string with a wad of raw bacon tied at one end. We dropped the bait into the water in front of nooks in the rock border where the big, sluggish crawdads rested. They would grab the bait and we would haul them up and try to plop them into a jar if they did fall back into the drink, which they invariably did.” She continued sharing, “My two most precious memories of growing up there were riding horseback with my Father every Sunday before Church, and driving home from Wilson grade school with my Mother up that serpentine drive.”
The land had many nooks and crannies to gaze upon and get lost in. Mary went on to talk about one of her favorite spots on the property that she often visited when coming home for Christmas. “There was a rock ledge that projected out over Deep Fork Creek, we called it Dripping Rock. For many years there sat atop it, the exposed root system of a long dead tree. We called it the octopus tree, because there was just enough of the trunk left to give the impression of an octopus head and the roots of course resembled the tentacles. The gray color of the barkless surface added even further to the effect….One day my father wrote to me in New York to inform me that Deep Fork had flooded, dislodging our wooden octopus, and carried it off. I am sure I felt as sad as he did when Dripping Rock was ruined for him.”
Life started to slow down for the couple in the 1990s with Archibald being diagnosed with congestive heart failure. It would eventually take his life peacefully at their home on March 21, 1998. Sarah would pass in the home as well on February 9, 2002. With all their children spread out across the world, the home became abandoned.
Built: 1934 Abandoned: 1990
Harold Gimeno and constructed by Raybourn H. Smiser. The foundation was built upon a red sandstone ridge which is where it got the name of Red Ridge Mansion. The mansion is around 6,400 square feet equipt with 26 rooms and 4 1/2 baths, 11 rooms upstairs, 15 rooms downstairs, a basement, a well house, and an incinerator. Arguably the best room in the house is that of one of the third-floor bedrooms that offer a 360-degree view of the Oklahoma City skyline. Other intriguing features of the mansion include the marble floor living room fit with a large fireplace, a library with clay tile flooring, a formal breakfast room, and a porch with a portico.
Robert J. Edwards at the time was one of the wealthiest men in Oklahoma City. He was the founder of R.J. Edwards Inc., allegedly the first municipal bond firm west of the Mississippi, in 1892. As a result of his wealth, he was able to build a substantial house and acquire the many acres with it. The Red Ridge Mansion cost $50,000 which is equivalent to $1,049,059.70 in 2022. In addition to building his own home, he offered five of his children 15 acres and would build them a house as well upon their marriage.
Robert passed away in 1946 leaving his widow in the Red Ridge Mansion to occupy the huge house alone. The children had grown and even though three lived nearby having a huge house like that to yourself would be pretty lonely. His widow, Sadie Cason Handy Edwards passed away in 1966 leaving the residence unoccupied for a few months.
Oklahoma Museum of Conservative Art at Red Ridge
In 1967 the Oklahoma Museum of Conservative Art made their home in the Red Ridge Mansion, leasing the property from the Edwards Family. It was the only private museum to serve Oklahoma City specializing in traditional artists. The OMCA at Red Ridge provided the community with sponsored classes in addition to exhibits. They didn’t stop there either offering traveling exhibits, a lending library and high school drawing competitions. The art museum was free to the public with the exception of special exhibits. They resided in the mansion until July 1975 when the museum had a new interest in getting a bigger and newer building.
The home remained in the heirs’ hands who attempted to revive the property. The home had been overridden with ivy which after being removed had left the walls pockmarked. Also causing issues was moisture, the home had many brass features as well as an iron railing on the staircase. Grandson of R.J., George Edwards was especially excited about the work to the house noting that exterior walls were being prepped for painting and plans for upgrading the mansion. It had in recent years been offices for an advertising firm, a magazine publisher and a postal mailing company. George Edwards was happily ready to see it through that the home be refurbished and the remaining acreage turned into an office park while still keeping the foliage.
He can remember how his grandmother rode to the property in a chauffeured limousine, tossing daffodil bulbs, and having a gardener plant them where they fell. They can still be seen scattered throughout the land today. “My great-grandfather happened to be a gardener/handy man/chauffeur hired by the wife of RJ Edwards, Sadie. He first was hired to watch over the construction supplies while the house was being built in 1935. Once completed, he worked at the mansion for 8 years,” said Heidi Shelley.
Built: 1938 Abandoned: 2009
The third of the mansions is Windy Hill owned by John and Virginia Edwards. Mrs. Edwards debuted the plans for their new home at the bridal shower of Mrs. Betty Lou Dunning. This home was constructed in a Colonial style, with red brick and white trim and eight rooms for many children.
Newspapers in February 1938 said this about the construction, “It will be just another of the homes that the sons and daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards are building on that tract of land bought so long ago by Judge Edwards, with the parent’s home, Red Ridge standing high on the hill overlooking all the country about, the center of the Edwards community.
Archibald Edwards was the first of the young folk to build their home there. Right now the home of their daughter Mary Elizabeth and her husband Thomas Thach is under construction. John and Virgina’s home is being built right at this minute and they hope to occupy it within the next two months.
John was a few years older than Virginia, they married in 1937 at 33 and 26 years of age. Together they had four children John Jr, Josephine, Helen and Ellis. John Jr. passed away at Windy Hill when he was just five months old in 1940.
John Edwards was an elite businessman working with his father at the family business. They had built a name for themselves as the “oldest municipal bond firm West of the Mississippi” and had financed almost every unit of government in Oklahoma and much of the southwest.
To give you some insight into the company John and Virgina kept, as well as their hospitality I will share a newspaper article from 1960.
Cityans Show Formal, Informal Hospitality to Foreign Visitors – Atop “Windy Hill Mansion” one snowy day early last spring a high-ranking member of the royal family of Laos was seen hurtling himself down a steep incline on a child’s sled.
It was Prince Sisouphannouvong – a State Department-sponsored visitor to the city – and his companion on the sled was 13-year-old Ellis Edwards, the youngest member of the John Handy Edwards’s.
After the sledding, the pair took to the toboggan run and the prince, a diminutive man with Asiatic features, returned from the outing invigorated and beaming with pleasure. It was the first time he had ever gone tobogganing- the first snow he had ever seen.
This is the kind of hospitality dispensed by Oklahoma Cityans to their foreign visitors – the kind of warm welcoming that has made them famous throughout the world. Oklahoma City has been officially welcoming visitors routed here by the State Department Governmental Affairs Institute for the past two years; unofficially, members of the city’s chamber of commerce have been greeting and meeting foreign visitors to the city for a good many years.
While organization of the hospitality program has progressed under the direction of W. Thomas Thach, general chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Committee for International Visitors, the bulk of the entertainment planning has fallen to the women members of the committee. Mrs. Edwards is in charge of “daytime” entertainment, and “nighttime” entertainment is under the direction of Mrs. John E. Kirkpatrick.
Much of her life was spent fostering connections between international visitors and the people of Oklahoma. To do so, Virginia was a part of dozens of organizations, all that she loved dearly. She was a member of the Junior League, Tuesday Study Club, Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge, and Philomathea Club. She and her husband worked in a church group from St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral which John’s entire family were prominent members, at the Federal Penitentiary at El Reno and later at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center at Lexington. She and her husband were charter members of the Sundowners at the State Fair of Oklahoma assisting with international exhibitors. She was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. She was a Regent for Kenmore, home of George Washington’s sister in Fredericksburg, VA for 25 years.
Virginia had a deep love of the arts and many of the organizations to which she belonged supported the arts in Oklahoma. She was a member of the Oklahoma Art League, Oklahoma City Orchestra League, Civic Music, and the OCU Opera and Music Association. She was a longtime member of the Oklahoma City Art Museum and a Trustee of the Oklahoma Museum of Art. She was a member of the Alliance Francaise, the English-speaking Union and Programmer of the Oklahoma City Visitors Council for 35 years.
She often hosted these events at Windy Hill Mansion, she often hosted the quarterly meeting of the Colonial Dames with lunch. She also hosted tea events for the foreign students attending the nearby FAA Aeronautical Center. Of course with her work entertaining foreign visitors of Oklahoma City, in collaboration with Mrs. Kirkpatrick, they often utilized both Windy Hill and the Kirkpatrick home to host the visitors.
John passed away on May 15, 1993, surrounded by loved ones and going to be with his parents and late son. He left behind his wife Virginia and his three children. Virginia passed away in 2009 at Windy Hill Mansion after a long-lived life. With their children spread out the home was left abandoned on the property.
Built: 1938 Status: Privately Owned and Lived in by the Watts Family
Known as the Beneath Green Bows or Mary Elizabeth Edwards Thach Mansion is located in the heart of Oklahoma City, on one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels of land. This was the fourth mansion completed on the property!
She then went on to teach at a Native school in New Mexico. Immediately upon taking on the role of teacher, she removed the use of the switch and ruler from her classroom. She did not agree with the use of corporal punishment on children.”So much more can be accomplished with children through kindness. If our nation fails in tomorrow’s years it will be because we failed in properly bringing up today’s boys and girls.”
She was also credited with bringing the Planned Parenthood movement to Oklahoma City after listening to a lecture from Margaret Sanger at Bryn Mawr College. Sanger’s stories of women bearing many children in poverty and poor health moved Mary enough to want to bring the movement to her hometown.
Mary Elizabeth Edwards was the daughter of Oklahoma City pioneer R.J. Edwards. Father Edwards had the dream to build a family compound of sorts and he had the money to do it. Once his kids were old enough and beginning their own families he would transfer fifteen acres to them and construction on a mansion would begin.
Mary and her lover William T. Thach were married in February 1936. Their wedding ceremony was held at the Red Ridge Mansion of her father. She took inspiration from her grandmother for her wedding with spring flower settings and chose a similar dress too. R.J. Edwards gave the land to Mary in December 1936 for them to build their home and start a family.
At the same time, her brother John Edwards, and his wife Virginia were also constructing their Windy Hills Mansion. Mary and “Tom’s” home became known as the ‘Beneath the Green Bows Mansion’ for the many cedar trees that surround it.
Just as most of the Edwards family was, Mary and Thomas were no exception to the busy and social life. Newspaper article after newspaper article details many social gatherings hosted at the Beneath Green Bows Mansion. Thomas’s family would often come in from out of town and stay at their home for a week at a time. Thomas worked closely with sister-in-law Virginia Edwards on welcoming foreigners to Oklahoma City. So much so that he was honored with the title “Mr. International of Greater Oklahoma City”.
Together Thomas and Mary Elizabeth had four children many carrying the namesake of Mary’s siblings. Daughter Mary Chaille loved to arrange bouquets of fresh flowers to decorate Beneath Green Bows Mansion.
Thomas had passed away in 1977, with their children living mostly in St. Louis, Mary was an empty nester. She had her surrounding family on the compound and that was it. She had put her home into a trust in 1986. Around 1998 and in ailing health it appears she moved to St. Louis to be closer to her kids. According to George her kids then sold the home to Duncan Equipment Co. for $475,000.
Built: 1947 Status: Restored and lived in by George Edwards
The last and final mansion built on the property was Creekwood Mansion, as I mentioned earlier in the article got its name from being the farthest north on the property deep in the woods and near the Deep Fork Creek.
This mansion belonged to son Beverly Edwards and was built much later than the others due to the fact that Beverly was in the military. He and his wife and children were stationed in a few different places, during World War 2 he even served as the artillery instructor at Ft. Sill and then did service in the Philippines and Korea earning the rank of Major.
It used to be much harder to access the home though, that all changed in the ’80s.
Bridge Without a Road Waits and Waits and… March 22nd 1980 – For more than a decade its been a nifty looking barricaded bridge extending west of BLANK, apparently to nowhere.
But after all those years the bridge will soon be opened, providing Beverly Edwards access to his home on the old Edwards Family Farm.
According to a longtime state highway employy – about the only one who can remember “the story about that bridge” – the state started acquiring right-of-way to upgrade US 66 also called Northeast Expressway to interstate standards sometime around 1964.
The old RJ Edwards land is located just south of the expressway between BLANK and BLANK and extending south to BLANK. Today, four of the Edwards children live in homes on the property.
Longtime state right-of-way official Jim Webb recalled that by acquiring the property, the state also would be cutting off Beverly Edwards’ only access to his home.
At the time the Edwards family said “”no deal”, and we though we would end up in court,” Webb said. So the state obtained an estimate on what it would cost to build a bridge over Deep Fork Creek about two blocks south of the expressway on the west side of BLANK. It came out to $90,000, which the state paid the Edwardses, who had the bridge built years ago.
And although the expressway has never been improved, Webb termed the price a bargain because the bridge “would probably cost at least $250,000 today.” John Edwards, Beverly Edwards brother who also lives on the family property at the Windy Hill Mansion, confirmed the bridge will be opened soon “so my brother can get to his house.”
Improvement on that segment of the expressway, which will link the West Bypass with I-35 are expected to begin in a few months.”
Beverly Edwards passed away just a few years after the bridge/road was completed in 1984. His wife Dorothy passed away in 2010 leaving the family home to their son George R. Edwards. With this he was the last Edwards on the property. He restored his childhood home and put it in a trust, to ensure that this place would be “a place for the grandkids” just as his Grandfather had intended.
But by the early 2000s the 90-acre tract of land with 19 different heirs between Robert J. Edwards’s children and their children, experienced a familial divide. “Secretly” Duncan Equipment Co. of OKC and CJW Family, a limited partnership led by Charles Jefferson Watts II, had bought the interests of 2/6 groups of heirs to the estate. This included ‘Beneath the Green Bows Mansion’ and ‘Windy Hills Mansions’ Neither of the entities had any connection to the family and instead had their own developmental plans in mind for the property. Those plans included an upscale New Orleans-style restaurant in the Red Ridge Mansion, offices, and an upscale housing and hotel.
The entire “game plan” of Duncan and CJW was something not well thought out, being that the 90 acres were split up into six fifteen-acre plots deeded to the six Edwards children. They were only able to acquire 30 acres and even though they were able to successfully gain control of that land, they were unable to make any developmental decisions without the approval and support of the remaining heirs on the estate. Upset by this roadblock the Duncan Equipment Co and CJW Family pushed back at the remaining four groups of heirs that had wished to keep the family in their name. They filed a partition suit in 2001 asking a judge to separate the heirs’ interests in a Sheriff’s sale. District Judge Carolyn Ricks seemed to side with Duncan and CJW ordering a sheriff’s sale leaving it open to them to fully acquire the land. This is the only fair way to go about splitting the interest so that the proceeds of the sale can be split evenly between heirs.
Less than a month later the sheriff’s sale was held, and the Edwards family who had not sold their share of the estate were present as well as representatives of the Duncan Equipment Co. and CJW Family. The property was appraised during court proceedings at $1.725 million and the minimum bid to be accepted would be two-thirds of the appraised value, or $1,138,500. Calls continued coming out and the reps for both entities stayed quiet. The Edwards family sat in shock, then with the help of Sarah Edwards, wife of Archibald Edwards, whose family had made a nice fortune for themselves, put up the money to place a bid of just $34 over the minimum, and regained ownership of the estate. The representatives had not bid when contacted after the auction president David Ragland of Duncan stated they had not bid because the appraisal of the property was far too high. As part of his commission, the Watts family was given Beneath Green Bows Mansion which they still currently own and live in.
Unfortunately, the estate has continued to decline because of prevalent vandalism. In 2019 the Red Ridge Mansion was placed on Preservation Oklahoma ‘s Most Endangered List. Stating the Oklahoma Commissioners of Land Office had created a development plan for the parcel of land that would threaten the existence of all five mansions. The homes have been vandalized beyond belief and false rumors of murders and ghosts have contributed to the destruction of the property. Local police and the owners have resorted to motion sensors, trail cams, and ticketing those who have chosen to venture onto the ground.
But there could finally be hope for the property. The Kirkpatrick Foundation has purchased the land with the three abandoned mansions on it and has announced the creation of the ‘Red Ridge Nature Preserve’. As of now, the grounds are closed to the public for environmental restoration but plans have been unveiled to soon restore the three abandoned mansions on the property. Red Ridge is hopeful to become a nature center, Preachers Wall a welcome center and Windy Hills is unknown at this moment.
RED RIDGE MANSIONS ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY. YOU WILL BE TICKETED WITH POSSIBLE ARREST IF YOU TRESPASS ONTO THE PROPERTY.
Bibliography
Red Ridge Mansion Sources
https://www.newspapers.com/image/451595719/?match=1&clipping_id=167578418
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1986/06/03/old-red-ridge-mansion-showing-city-new-face/62724654007/
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/02/09/family-split-on-red-ridge-ruling-will-allow-sale-of-rj-edwards-land/62159448007/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/454004766/?terms=RED%20RIDGE&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/454004721
https://www.newspapers.com/image/454261211/?terms=RED%20RIDGE&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/451994381/?terms=RED%20RIDGE&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/452055449/?terms=RED%20RIDGE&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/452415120/?terms=RED%20RIDGE&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/452009806/?terms=red%20ridge&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/444423689/?terms=edwards%20home&match=1
Click to access POKApr2019.pdf
https://gateway.okhistory.org/search/?q=red+ridge&t=fulltext&sort=&fq=dc_type%3Aimage_photo
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36697316/robert-james-edwards
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36695540/sadie-cason-edwards
Preachers Wall Mansion Sources
https://docs.oklahomacounty.org/AssessorWP5/AN-R.asp?PropertyID=126904
https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-10642-2007526&searchTerm=eJxljTESAiEMRa9CZYnDqMUWW9p6hwhhZIYAS7I7enuDbqVN%2FvtJfrIUIJxvWkwsNkCMNaTMaqhaN4S3yjtRUshjch7Cgb6eKZ526rp7WNp6z8mDpFqOrmXwOF83LGJQbJUHdoPNhrXDaDW9h0%2Fw8pMLIP%2Bxl3XTdDGE%2Bu%2BT5EQpQ38D1kdG4A%3D%3D&page_id=11&ocr_panel=1
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94416636/sarah_stanley-edwards
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594884896/?match=1&terms=archibald%20%22edwards%20home%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594575193/?match=1&terms=%22archibald%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594608046/?match=1&terms=%22archibald%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/444452750/?match=1&terms=%22archibald%20edwards%22%20home
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1998/03/26/archibald-cason-edwards/62287284007/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/449617749/?match=1&terms=%22mary%20edwards%22%20thach
Preachers Wall Mansion, Preachers Wall Mansion, Preachers Wall Mansion,
Preachers Wall Mansion, Preachers Wall Mansion, Preachers Wall Mansion
Windy Hill Mansion Sources
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594608046/?match=1&terms=%22archibald%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594968508/?match=1&terms=%22archibald%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/451817267/?match=1&terms=%22windy%20hill%22%20edwards
https://www.newspapers.com/image/454422076/?match=1&terms=%22%20john%20h%20edwards%22
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/oklahoman/name/virginia-edwards-obituary?id=26297738
https://www.newspapers.com/image/836759210/?match=1&terms=%22%20john%20h%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/604080555/?match=1&terms=%22%20john%20h%20edwards%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/450204899/?match=1&terms=%22%20john%20h%20edwards%22
Beneath Green Bows Mansion Sources
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2002/02/14/mary-elizabeth-thach-nee-edwards/62106686007/
https://www.okcc.online/index.php?book=5435&page=1444#ROD-Bkpg
https://www.okcc.online/index.php?book=7368&page=21#ROD-Bkpg
https://docs.oklahomacounty.org/AssessorWP5/AN-R.asp?PropertyID=126864
https://www.newspapers.com/image/593884508/?match=1&clipping_id=167393059
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71562159/mary-elizabeth-thach
https://www.newspapers.com/image/452377093/?match=1&terms=%22mary%20edwards%20thach
https://www.newspapers.com/image/593848243/?match=1&terms=%22mary%20edwards%20thach%22%20home
https://www.newspapers.com/image/594592119/?match=1&terms=%22mary%20edwards%22%20home
https://www.newspapers.com/image/836545103/?match=1&terms=%22thach%20home%22
https://www.newspapers.com/image/453381059/?match=1&terms=%22thach%20home%22
Creekwood Mansion Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69929182/beverly-curtis_diggs-edwards
https://www.newspapers.com/image/836542170/?match=1&terms=%22Beverly%20Edwards%22%20creekwood
https://www.newspapers.com/image/452371390/?match=1&terms=%22Beverly%20Edwards%22%20HOME
These are the five Red Ridge Mansions that sit in the middle of Oklahoma City, three abandoned and soon to be restored and two lived in. Grandson of R.J. Edwards, George spoke with us during a tour of the property and gave us the history behind each of the names. “Granny helped found St. Pauls and Uncle Archie was always in the front row, right side, in the middle of the pew every Sunday for the 11 am service so assuming that’s why.” He continued on saying, “Beneath Green Bows, was named after all the cedar trees surrounding it and was owned by Mary Elizabeth Edwards Thach and is now in private hands and lived in by the Watts Family, Red Ridge (RJ Edwards Mansion) was named around all the red rocks found on this ridge, Windy Hill (John Edwards Mansion) because these trees weren’t here and it was very windy. The final home, known as Creekwood Mansion for its close proximity to Deep Fork Creek and being surrounded by woods is still lived in by George and his family.”
