What is the Whiteman Home?
The Whiteman Family Home is a surviving family residence at Goodwater in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The family dates the house to 1893.
How old is the house?
The family-established construction date is 1893. Independently, an Oklahoma Historical Society archival description identifies the W. J. Whiteman home as built before 1907. The project presents those as two different levels of evidence rather than claiming the archive independently proves the exact 1893 date.
Who were W. J. and Mattie Whiteman?
William Jourdan “W. J.” Whiteman settled at Goodwater in 1893 and became Goodwater's first postmaster in 1894. He married Mattie Josephine Harris in 1896. Dawes records identify Mattie as Choctaw by blood and W. J. as intermarried white.
Is the house still in use?
Yes. It remains a private residence and is not open to the public. Family history records multiple generations living in, leaving and returning to the home.
What survives?
Features described during the current project include early framing, siding beneath later siding, interior wood, brickwork associated with a former kitchen chimney and an interior well. These features are being documented as preservation work develops.
What is the fundraising goal?
The preservation campaign goal is $125,000 by May 2027. The official GoFundMe campaign is the live source for fundraising progress.
Is the property officially designated or grant-funded?
The project does not represent the property as National Register listed, Choctaw Nation designated, grant-funded or endorsed by an outside organization unless such status is formally confirmed.