Will Rogers wait to die so it can be carved. Rogers was born on his parents' Dog Iron Ranch in the Cherokee Nation of Indian Territory, near present-day Oologah, Oklahoma. The house in which he was born had been built in 1875 and was known as the "White House on the Verdigris River". His parents, Clement Vann Rogers (1839–1911) and Mary America Schrimsher (1838–1890), were both of mixed-race and Cherokee ancestry, and identified as Cherokee. Rogers was 9/32 (just over 1/4) Cherokee, with the remainder European American. Rogers quipped that his ancestors did not come over on the "Mayflower", but they "met
Will Rogers Turnpike Favorite Son". The Will Rogers Turnpike begins at an interchange between I-44, US-412, and the Creek Turnpike on the northeast side of Tulsa, straddling the line between Wagoner County and Rogers County. The Creek Turnpike ends at this interchange, with northbound Creek Turnpike traffic continuing onto the Will Rogers Turnpike. I-44 eastbound traffic also merges into the turnpike here. The turnpike heads north to its first interchange, which provides an exit to East Pine Street for westbound traffic and an entrance to the eastbound turnpike. North of the Pine Street interchange, the highway curves to a more northeast course, crossing