Where the Gem Sparkles Yet: The History of the Grave of Belle Starr
by Roger Bell
Article from Volune XXIII #2 (Winter 2012) of the OklahombreS Journal
(All Rights to this story are reserved by the author and any duplication, publication or broadcast in any way is prohibitted without the written consent of the author)
Certainly there can be few grave sites in American Western History that have provided as much fascination and exploration over the years as the grave of Belle Starr.
Historians, adventurers, treasure hunters, and curiosity seekers have all been continually drawn to the
isolated grave near present day Porum, Oklahoma for the past 120 years since her
untimely death.
Until recently though, the passage of time was slowly taking its toll on the grave and surrounding property. Decay and damage to the grave was becoming alarming and access had become extremely difficult due to the heavy growth of the underbrush and the destruction of many of the developed trails to
the site. Slowly, Belle Starr’s grave was becoming endangered.
In the last two years however, the grave site and the Younger’s Bend property have been in a process of restoration and renewal by a new owner of the
property. Today, the site is the most accessible it has been in nearly a century. This restoration process has provided a new light to be shed on the grave site and in this article we will attempt to look back at the unique history of Belle Starr’s final resting place.
BURIAL AT YOUNGER’S BEND
Shortly after the mysterious murder of Belle Starr on February 3, 1889, her body was said to have been covered completely with quilts and taken in a wagon by two brothers from the area named Jim and Wiley Cates along with some other men from the area. The Cates (who were originally from
Tennessee) had moved to the area south of the Canadian River during the 1880’s when their father Richard Cates had settled there to engage in farming and stock raising. Wiley and his father Richard are buried today in the nearby Whitefield Cemetery.
After the trip to Belle Starr’s property at Younger’s Bend was completed, Belle’s body was prepared for burial by several women from the area and was anointed with turpentine and oil of cinnamon. The body was subsequently dressed in Belle’s “finest black riding habit” and then placed
in a pine-board coffin made by the Cate’s other brother, John I. Cates. (John Cates several years later was to be killed in a mining accident near Wilburton,
Oklahoma). Belle’s arms were subsequently crossed for burial and a Belle’s favorite revolver was said to be placed in one of her hands.
Belle’s burial took place on February 6, 1889. Stories over the years have indicated that Belle had always told her daughter and others that she wanted to be buried on the Younger’s Bend property if something should ever happen to her, but no real documented information has been obtained as to why she was buried by her cabin and not in a neighboring cemetery.
Men from the area are said to have dug the grave within a few feet of her cabin property on a location looking out across the Canadian River Valley
below. Some stories even suggest that Edgar Watson, who was later put on trial for her death was amongst the men who dug her grave.
A group of near to one hundred persons are said to have attended the burial. The attendees were a diverse
group including members of the Starr family, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, sharecroppers and other friends and acquaintances of Belle and her family. Among the group were several suspects for her murder.
The coffin was opened for the time of burial and stories indicate that the group paid their final respects by passing one by one past the coffin. It is said that no official religious ceremony were held at the time of burial, but that the Cherokee Citizens present did drop cornbread into the
coffin which was an established burial custom. Eventually the casket was lowered into the grave and the dirt was shoveled over the casket to cover it.
There are some conflicting stories of what happened soon after the burial had taken place, but some indicate thatwithin moments young Jim July Starr (considered a common-law husband of Belle in most accounts) then pointed a Winchester at Edgar Watson and shouted “You murdered my wife!” or something similar. (July in his testimony at the trial in Fort Smith did indicate that he arrested Watson shortly after her murder).
John Cates, who had made the coffin and was attending the funeral was then pulled between Watson and July and was used as a shield to protect Watson from a shot from July. Watson was subsequently taken into custody and then taken to Fort Smith for trial with a Ben Statham and wife, Jack Rowe and July. This event would have likely taken place only a few feet from where the grave is located.
A Monument for Belle
In just over a year after her burial a story appeared in the Dallas News on March 20, 1890 indicating that the grave had been looted and robbed to obtain “her jewelry….and a very fine pistol buried with her.” Afterwards it is indicated that Belle’s daughter Pearl had the grave “walled up with two feet of stone” with the wall being filled with “broken rock, and two large well fitted slabs of limestone tilted over the vault in a V shape, like the roof of a house.”
At some point a stonecutter was hired to carve out a stone to be placed on Belle’s grave. In his book Outlaws and Peace Officers of Indian Territory author C.W. “Dub” West recounted an oral history interview he did with a Jess Shinn whose family had lived in the area for a century.
Shinn told West in the interview that in the 1890’s a man who made grave markers came into the home of his grandmother, a Mrs. Rowland.
Pearl, the daughter of Belle, was said to have had contact with the man at the Rowland home and soon after made arrangements for the man to procure,
engrave and erect a marker for her mother’s grave.
Shinn further stated that the man borrowed a team and wagon from his grandmother and obtained a stone, which he took back to the Howland home. The man then engraved the stone per the instructions of Pearl and then hauled the marker to the grave site and erected it. According to the story, the man was paid $25 for his work and artistry.
The stonecutter did carve an initial and name at the bottom of the marker of J. Daly. Several later newspaper stories and subsequent books attributed the initials to a Joseph Dailey or sometimes spelled Daley. This likely first occurred in a story written by newspaperman Frederick
Barde near the ten year anniversary of Belle’s murder, but this identification does not directly coincide with the markings of the stone showing a name of
Daly.
Research by the author during the preparation of this article found that the F. Daly & Company, a monument business out of Fort Smith, Arkansas was advertising in the Indian Territory during this time period and indicated they had “served the Indian Territory since 1872. A small story also
appeared in the June 30, 1889 Muskogee Phoenix (only a few months after Belle’s death) concerning the death of a John Daly in Muskogee at the young age of 38. The story mentioned Daly as a member of the Daly family of Fort Smith and said he had a “good reputation”.
A member of this Daly family would be assumed to be a good candidate for being the stonecutter of the grave. It is hoped further research may be able to better determine this and accurately identify the person responsible for the creation of the monument.
The monument included a short and colorful poem at the bottom that has become synonymous with the recordings of Belle’s history.
“Shed not for her the bitter tear.
Nor give the heart to vain regret.
Tis but the casket that lies here,
The gem that filled it sparkles yet.”
This poem over the years has been generally attributed to have been written by Pearl Starr by Belle’s biographers with some indicating that the stonecutter may have prepared it himself. While doing research for this article, the author found evidence of the same poem being used on a tombstone in
Massachusetts in the 1850’s. Many similar monuments can be found in nearby cemeteries in Oklahoma with the J. Daly initials including the Hoyt Cemetery, the Whitefield Cemetery, the Coleman Cemetery and in the Starr Cemetery near Briartown with the tombstone of Belle’s husband Sam
Starr. Many of these tombstones have a portion of a poem at the bottom of a marker.
During a recent review of the Coleman Cemetery near Porum, Oklahoma, the author was able to locate the stone of a Becky Wilkerson with one of the Daly stones. Wilkerson who had moved to the area with her second husband died in October of 1888 only a few months prior to Belle’s death. Upon a close inspection of the stone the initials of J. Daly were found and also the same poem that appears on the grave of Belle Starr was found word for word. It would then be assumed that the poem upon Belles' grave was prewritten and was likely made available by the stonecutter to be placed upon graves as desired.
The true uniqueness of Belle's original marker however were the symbols carved at the top of the stone which included a center image of Belle’s favorite mare Venus with BS initials on the shoulder. Also included on the stone to the right was a star emblem and to the left a hand bell symbolizing the name of Belle Starr. To the bottom was a clasped hand holding flowers. These unique markings on the stone when combined with the roof shaped
sandstone vault made the grave a unique and attractive monument.
THE VISITS BEGIN
The fully completed grave was indicated to have been in place when one of the earliest newspaper mentions of it appeared in the McAlester Capital Newspaper on May 23, 1895. The article detailed a trip made to the grave site by newspaperman W.W. Wallis, the McAlester Capital editor, and Mr. & Mrs. Cates of Hoyt. The trip to the grave was described as follows:
The grave has been well taken care of and, is in the front yard of her residence, not more than 25 feet from the door, which is now occupied by a W. H. Potter and his father. It (the grave) is walled up with stone and the wall filled with broken stone. The roof of the vault is of two stones set like the roof of a
house. A marble slab adorns the front of the tomb that has a horse chiseled on it that is said to be modeled from a favorite horse that she had buried when he died; on a level with the feet and at the head is a hand bell, at back above is a star, the design supposed to be the name. Below are the words: "Belle Starr, Born, Carthage, M., Feb. 5th, 1848, Died Feb.3, 1889." Mr. and Mrs. Cates were present at her funeral. Mr. Cates made the coffin. The
members of our party were here during the days of the gang and knew them.
It is indicated that the grave soon became a popular destination and place to visit and this was likely further fueled by the fictional dime novels on Belle’s life that were produced during the 1890’s. The Muskogee Times Democrat included a small mention of the grave during this time in a story and called the site “one of the show places of Porum”.
In September of 1910, Sturm’s Oklahoma Magazine included a story entitled “The Story of Belle Starr” from newspaperman and early Oklahoma writer Frederick Barde. The seven page article included several photos of the remaining cabin and spring at Younger’s Bend and included photos of the grave. The magazine story included a description of the grave as being “chipped by relic hunters, until its edges are rounded.” A hollyhock with blood red
flowers was said to be at one corner.
Barde died in 1916 and in 1917 the Oklahoma State Legislature authorized $5,000 to purchase his writings and photographs which included these images. The Younger’s Bend. These photographs are now in possession of the Oklahoma Historical Society and have been used as illustrations in several books on Belle Starr. It is indicated that these photographs may have been taken earlier than the 1910 story and possibly as early as 1899 at the 10 year anniversary of Belle’s death.
A very detailed article appeared in the Washington Post (and likely several other national papers) on May 16, 1915 and detailed the grave site as being located in a dense timber along the South Canadian River. It made mention of the nearby cabin of cedar logs which was still standing and located nearby.
The story further mentioned a Mabel Jones of Tamaha, Oklahoma who while being interviewed for the story was shown a photograph of Belle’s grave. Tears were said to have “filled her eyes” as she pointed to a sumac near the grave and said “I planted that sumac. Belle told me once that she
wanted me to plant a sumac at her grave when she was put underground. She was twining red sumac leaves when she asked me to make a promise saying: Joe – she always called me Joe – I always loved the red leaves of the sumac.” Today there are several tall and thin sumac bushes around the grave site.
The McIntosh County Democrat mentioned the grave site and Younger’s Bend property in a March 16, 1922 story. At the time, the site was indicated to be only accessible by trail with” plentiful rough shrubbery surrounding it”. The grave was mentioned to have a “crude bell and star cut on its face”
to identify the resting place of “the woman bandit”. The article further stated that the site was then near to and “protecting the biggest moonshine still operation in Eastern Oklahoma.”
A few years later, the Miami News Record on October 21, 1928 reported on a trip to the grave. It mentioned hiring a guide in Porum to take parties to the grave site and further tated that the roads to the grave location at that time were “very rough but traversable by automobile with a stout heart, good tires and a tank filled with gasoline”. The nearby cabin was still indicated to be remaining at this time and the reporter was able to “Draw up a chair to the old hearth stone, drink from the nearby spring and later visit the nearby Belle Starr Cave.
In 1936 a detailed story entitled “Lonely Memorial Marks Grave of Belle Starr authored by a Joe Synar and Richard Venator appeared in the
Muskogee Phoenix of January 5th. This story was later republished in the Frontier Times Magazine of the same year. The article relayed little information on the condition of the grave at that time, but a photograph appeared of the grave in the Phoenix article that had been taken by the authors showing the grave to be in fair condition at the time.
A BARBER COMES TO YOUNGER’S BEND
In 1938 a man by the name of Claude Hamilton was sweeping his barbershop in Sterling, Colorado when a map fell from beneath a couch in his small shop. This map apparently led to the discovery of a buried treasure in Colorado by Hamilton. With a portion of his findings, he purchased a new ice blue 1938 Oldsmobile. He became fascinated with treasure hunting and in 1939; he moved his barbershop to Porum, Oklahoma and purchased the land in and around Younger's Bend at sheriff’s sale which included the grave of Belle Starr.
A lifelong obsession with Belle Starr and the hunt for nearby treasure followed. For many years, Hamilton searched the hills around Hi Early Mountain as well as the nearby Belle Starr canyon for any sign of outlaw treasure. Hamilton was known to even use dynamite on hills and cliffs in the area in search of potential treasure sites. Hamilton though never indicated that he had any inclination to search the actual grave site and he seemed to develop a great respect and caring for the preservation of Belle’s grave.
On July 1, 1956, a detailed story appeared in the Daily Oklahoma newspaper entitled ‘Belle Starr Lies in Lonely Grave”. Hamilton is quoted heavily in the story and indicated that at the time of his purchase of the property, the grave was in “fair condition with most of it intact”. “They just won’t leave it alone”, he stated in the article.” Wild brambles were shown in the article to have been planted by Hamilton in an effort to keep souvenir hunters away from
the grave. No trespassing signs were indicated to have been erected on the property as well as fencing around the grave.
In the article Hamilton recounted a story which he says almost led to bloodshed. “I went out to the property one day just in time to see a big feller start over the fence. I asked him politely if he noticed the signs and he said ‘Yeah I noticed them.” Don’t they mean anything to you? “Hamilton then asked.
“Not a thing” came back an answer from the man. Claude then stated that “just about that time he started through and I backed behind the gate, pulled out my pistol and told him ‘if you think your big enough brother, then come on through’. The man though did not come through and eventually left the area.
The McIntosh county Democrat had a story which included information on the grave on September 17, 1964. It described the grave at the time by
the following:
“Belle’s grave is an above the ground tomb constructed of sandstone slabs. It is located in the front yard of her old home place on ground now owned by a Porum barber. The grave is covered by brush and is completely hidden from view. The grave stone has been chipped to pieces during the years by curiosity seekers prompting the landowner to bar the place from public view.
The article further indicated that there were plans in progress at the time to potentially create a park and museum at the site of the grave. An alternate
plan was also mentioned about possibly relocating the grave to the newly established Belle Starr point on Lake Eufaula where a shrine would be erected.
Certainly during the 1960’s there were efforts established within the State of Oklahoma government to create historical sites and places for tourism in Oklahoma. A master plan of tourism was found while doing research for this story and indicated that the Belle Starr site was one under possible consideration for development and tourism. Likely due to funding issues, these plans never got too far past the initial designs.
In 1964 the nearby Eufaula Dam was completed and dedicated which created Lake Eufaula directly to the West of the Younger’s Bend site from the Canadian River. The creation of the manmade lake swallowed up several nearby historic locations including the famous Standing Rock and North Fork Town, however the Belle Starr grave and Youngers Bend properties remained untouched.
Vandalism of the grave site was the focus of a story which appeared in the Daily Oklahoma on January 15, 1967. The story detailed how Clyde Hamilton had previously created a duplicate grave marker at a cost of $325 and had placed a 6 foot high cyclone fence around Belle’s grave with the new marker being erected within the past year. The story further indicated that Hamilton had posted the site against all trespassers and was only allowing
visitors to the site to visit while he was present. The “two sizable chunks that were remaining at the time of the original grave marker were shown to then be stored in Hamilton’s Barber Shop in Porum for preservation. The remains of the original marker today are now owned by the present owners of the property.
After many years of hunting for treasure and protecting the property, Claude. Hamilton passed away in 1970. Mr. Hamilton spent nearly 30 years preserving and maintaining the Belle Starr grave site and likely without his efforts the site today would be destroyed. Mr. Hamilton’s widow
Ada continued to live near the property for many years in a small frame house along the highway. A sign was in front of her home for many years offering to guide persons to the grave trailhead for the fee of $1. She gave these tours to many persons over the years (including the author) though she always stated before her tour, that“she knew very little about Belle Starr”.
In 1986 an Associated Press story made nationwide distribution entitled “Bandit Belle Starr a mystery 100 years after dying”. The author of the story in the article tells the story of his trip to Porum, Oklahoma to see the grave. The author at that time was able to make contact with Ada Hamilton and she led him on a tour to the grave site for the usual fee of $1. The reporter mentioned in the article “walking up a muddy slope from a roadside gate through a glade awash in wildflowers”. Belle’s grave was shown to be in a “battered enclosure topped with barbed-wire.”
On January 29, 1989 near to the 100th anniversary of Belle’s death, an article appeared in the Daily Oklahoma which noted the lack of
markings for many historical sites in the state Author Glenn Shirley was quoted in the story along with Bob Blackburn of the Oklahoma Historical Society about the possibility of placing a historic marker near to Younger’s Bend and the Grave Site. There was even mention of the possibility of installing a radio transmitter with audio information broadcast on the history of the grave site and Belle Starr.
A RESTORATION
Ada Hamilton passed away in the 1990’s and after her death the property passed into the hands of other family members. Though visitors continued to visit the grave, slowly things became more difficult. The natural trails which had led to the grave over the years from the high point of the hill were greatly damaged by the ice storms that hit Eastern Oklahoma in 2007 and 2009. The gate entrance that Claude Hamilton had once built for the trailhead was badly damaged.
The adventurous who still went to the grave found the site to be in poor condition with the two roof slabs now fallen flat on the grave. Cuts in the chain link had exposed the site to vandals with trash and beer cans seen inside the fencing. The concrete replica marker had fallen flat on the ground. After over 100
years, Belle Starr’s final resting place was slowly fading away.
In 2010, the property was purchased by Dr. Ron Hood, an orthopedic surgeon, and his wife Donna. Ron was made aware of the property in a conversation that developed in his office in Tulsa one day which led him to take a look at the property. Ron’s strong passion for history and preservation furthered fueled his decision to complete the transaction for purchase from the Hamilton family heirs. Soon after purchase, the couple began making plans to restore the property and grave site.
Access to the site was returned by the development of a new trail starting at the base of the property along the highway. The chain link fences
were removed and the grave repaired and restored. Dr. Hood looked at as many historic images of the grave as possible during the restoration efforts to make sure the restoration was accurate to the original. The Hoods also sought out and purchased a remaining historic cabin rom Belle’s
native county in Missouri. The cabin was meticulously taken apart and then rebuilt at the foot of the Younger’s Bend property and including some modern conveniences and revisions.
Today, a trip to the grave site is the easiest it has been in likely a century. The Canadian River can actually now be seen from the grave and former cabin
site. Hood continues to make discoveries regularly on the property and the surrounding area and continues to update these on his Facebook Page of Younger’s Bend. The passionate restoration and renewal of the property has certainly saved the site and allowed for future generations to continue to discover and enjoy this unique and fascinating part of American Western History.
Bibliography
Books:
Hall, Ted Byron, Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Fort Worth, Texas, American Reference Publishers, 1971
Harris, Phil, This is Three Forks Country, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Hoffman Printing Co., 1965
Hicks, Edwin, Little Rock, Arkansas, Pioneer Press, 1963
Mooney, Charles W., Doctor in Belle Starr Country, Oklahoma City, OK, Century Press, 1975
Shirley, Glenn, Belle Starr and her Times, Norman, Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, 1982
Steele, Phillip, Starr Tracks, Gretna Louisiana, Pelican Publishing, 1989
West, C.W. “Dub”, Outlaws and Peace Officers of Indian Territory, Muskogee, OK, Muscogee Publishing, 1987
Winn, Robert, Two Starrs, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Washington County Historical Society, 1979
Newspapers:
Muskogee Phoenix
Muskogee Times Democrat
McAlester News Capital
Eufaula Indian Journal
McIntosh County Democrat
Miami News Record
Tulsa World
Daily Oklahoman
Vinita Indian Chieftain
Washington Post
Houston Chronicle
Checotah Times
Periodicals:
Frontier Times, Lonely Memorial Marks Grave of Belle Star, Joe Synar and Richard Venator, April 1936
Sturm’s Oklahoma Magazine, The Story of Belle Starr, Frederick Barde, September 1910
True West Magazine, The Bandit Queen’s Treasures, Brett Cogburn, August, 2011