Press Release
August 20, 2024
Contact: Jennifer Lynch
Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-765-6108
jennifer.lynch@history.ok.gov
www.pioneerwomanmuseum.com
Author Connie Cronley to Discuss Book on Kate Barnard at Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue
PONCA CITY, Okla. — On Saturday, August 31, at 1:30 p.m. inside the Pioneer Woman Museum, author Connie Cronley (Cherokee) will discuss the life of Kate Barnard, the first woman elected to a statewide office in Oklahoma. Barnard was elected at a time when women were not allowed to vote.
Cronley’s award-winning book, “A Life on Fire: Oklahoma’s Kate Barnard,” is the biography of Barnard, a popular social reformer who dedicated herself to political and social reform on behalf of orphans, the mentally ill, the incarcerated and the poor. She conducted inspections and reported egregious misconduct involving American Indian properties in Osage County – years before the FBI arrived to investigate the deaths of headright owners, as recounted in David Grann’s book, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
The Pioneer Woman Museum is located at 701 Monument Rd. in Ponca City. For more information, please call 580-765-6108 or visit their website, pioneerwomanmuseum.com.
The Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photos of the Pioneer Woman Museum and Statue are available upon request.
