The United States Post Office Watonga, in

Watonga, Oklahoma Watonga is a city in Blaine County, Oklahoma. It is 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Blaine County. History Watonga is located on former Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Res ...

, is a

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

-style building built in 1936. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2009. It is a one-and-a-half-story brick-clad building. Its front facade has decorative detail at the front entrance, including a round arch fanlight above, and brickwork suggestive of

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

by the sidelights of the doorway. It has four nine-over-nine double-hung windows Its lobby has a mural, "Roman Nose Canyon", by artist

Edith Mahier Edith Mahier (1892 – 1967) was an American artist and art instructor who was instrumental in helping develop the talent of the Kiowa Six during their studies at the University of Oklahoma. In 1941, she won the commission to complete the post o ...

. With . The mural, installed in 1941, is oil on canvas which nicely fits in a wall space above the postmaster's door. In the mural the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

chief

Henry Roman Nose Chief Henry Roman Nose (June 30, 1856 – June 12, 1917) was a highly respected Southern Cheyenne Chief. Living during turbulent times, Roman Nose was recognized for facilitating a peaceful transition to a non-nomadic way of life, while retaini ...

stands holding a rifle, with his family to the right and three Cheyenne riding horses to the left. A family of settlers with a Conestoga wagon and three other white men exploring the area. The Native Americans and white settlers have both arrived at the location to water their horses and livestock. It depicts the canyon where Roman Nose lived during 1856–1917 in bright orange and red colors. The mural was locally controversial in its depiction of Native Americans, and it is likely the most well-known of post office murals in Oklahoma.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Blaine County, Oklahoma Colonial Revival architecture in Oklahoma Government buildings completed in 1936 Blaine County, Oklahoma Post office buildings in Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-NRHP-stub