It’s amazing when a town that seems forgotten in time becomes a tourist attraction. Pawhuska, Oklahoma is an example how big dreams and a vision can attract fans from around the world. Lee Drummond, The Pioneer Woman attracts visitors to a small town on the Oklahoma frontier in just this way. The town has multiple historical buildings, primarily from a 1920s oil boom, that were mostly in disrepair until recently.
If you are not familiar, Pawhuska is the home of Ree Drummond, known as the Pioneer Woman, who lives on a working ranch outside of town. The Pioneer Woman has launched an empire from the small town with a show on the Food Network, home and cooking products of all kinds and the flagship Pioneer Woman Mercantile store downtown that attracts an average of 6,000 visitors per day. It all started in the mid-2000s with a web blog where she shares cooking tips, recipes and lifestyle trends based on frontier living.
Drummond has filmed The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network since 2011 nearby on the Drummond family ranch, which stretches over 433,000 acres, was founded more than 100 years ago by her husband’s ancestors and is surrounded by the Osage Indian Reservation. The Pioneer Woman has a cooking style that is a cross between Southern, Midwestern and Southwestern and emphasizes simple, tasty meals that can be created on a limited budget.
In 2012, Drummond purchased a dilapidated 25,000 square foot building in downtown Pawhuska and restored it during a couple of years to become The Pioneer Woman Mercantile. The Mercantile takes up most of a city block at the corner of Kihekah and Main. Upon entering, you will find a general store stocked with home decorations, cooking utensils, bowls, serving dishes, pots, pans, books and souvenirs. There are all kinds of items that will interest any fan.
The first floor of The Pioneer Woman Mercantile includes a restaurant Deli that features meals for breakfast, lunch and early dinner. Check out the menu. Menu items include the Cattleman’s Breakfast, the Farmers’ Breakfast, soups, salads, appetizers, sandwiches, steaks, and meals such as Chicken Fried Steak, Spicy Dr Pepper Pork and Beer Braised Short Rib.
That is not all for the Mercantile. The second floor includes a coffee bar and a bakery with cookies, pies, Danish pastries, muffins, croissants and biscuits. You can also take a break on the second floor with plenty of seating and window views of the surrounding area.
In recent years, the Drummonds have purchased additional surrounding properties near the Mercantile and have opened The Pioneer Woman Boarding House, P-Town Pizza and Charlie’s Sweet Shop. When visiting on a Saturday, the blocked off triangle-shaped block looked like a real version of Mayberry with a line of visitors standing in line to get autographs for one of Drummond’s recent cookbooks. Please check the hours before visiting and keep in mind that Saturdays attract the largest crowds, and the stores are closed on Sundays.
The Boarding House, located nearby the Mercantile, is described as an eight-room “cowboy luxury” hotel. Check out the specialty rooms, including The Photograph Room, The Emerald Room, The Butterfly Room, The Boudoir, The Drugstore Room, The Ranch Room, The Prairie Room and The Tack Room.
Walk across the street to find P-Town Pizza where you can choose from a variety of wood-fired pizza, chicken wings, salads, specialty drinks and desserts. The restaurant has plenty of televisions to watch sports.
Located next door is Charlie’s Sweet Shop, which opened in May 2019. The shop is named after longtime pet, Charlie, an easy-going basset hound that passed away in 2017. Charlie is remembered with tasty sweet treats, such as multiple flavors of handmade ice cream. You can get ice cream in a big waffle cone or a bowl. You can also taste Signature Sundaes or Bootleg Banana Splits. Plenty of Charlie items are available for purchase as well.
If you would like to visit the Lodge, the site where Drummond films her television show on the family ranch outside of town, tickets are free but must be obtained at the Mercantile on the day of the visit. Get the details here.
Other businesses are now restoring Pawhuska and serving visitors. Another choice for nearby lodging is the Historic Frontier Hotel, which was restored from a 1912 building. The hotel, which is a triangle-shaped building inside of the triangle-shaped square, features 20 boutique rooms. There are also other nearby lodging options from bed-and-breakfasts and vacation rental properties.
If you would like to become familiar with the area and other tourist attractions, you can take a tour. For example, Roaming the Osage tour, promises to “take you back in time to the 1920s oil boom with stories of riches, historical buildings, famous cowboys, and Native Osage Culture.”
To visit Pawhuska, the drive is about 60 miles north of Tulsa and about 150 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
The Pioneer Woman ventures all started with a blog about the Oklahoma frontier life. Her dreams now attract visitors from far away who want to get a taste of her interesting life.
If The Pioneer Woman attracts you to the small town of Pawhuska, on the Oklahoma Frontier, let us know when you visit and what you think! We loved our visit and plan to go back. If you know of a great place you would like us to blog about, contact us!
