History

Honoring Mollie Spencer

The 33-acre property was originally purchased in 1894 by Mollie Spencer, whose husband, L. M. Spencer, and brother-in-law, A. N. Spencer, founded the town of Yukon in 1891. Mollie Spencer was the grandmother of Oklahoma philanthropist, John Kirkpatrick, and great-great grandmother to his grandson Christian Keesee. The farm has been in the family since 1894.

Located on the original Chisholm Trail, the Mollie Spencer Farm, formerly the Kirkpatrick Family Farm, is one of the oldest pieces of continually-owned family real estate in Oklahoma and was originally founded in 1894 as the Spencer Homestead. 

In 2016, Keesee, President of the Board of Directors for the Mollie Spencer Farm, donated the farm to the Kirkpatrick Family Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The Family Fund ensures the protection of the property for public use through the nonprofit Mollie Spencer Farm, Inc

L.M. Spencer, Mollie Spencer, and their daughter, Claudia
Christian Keesee and his grandfather, John Kirkpatrick, at the first dedication of the Chisholm Trail historical marker at the Mollie Spencer Farm in 1969
Mollie Spencer with her grandson, John E. Kirkpatrick
Mollie Spencer with her dog
John E. Kirkpatrick and his grandson, Christian Keesee, on the Mollie Spencer Farm, circa 1973