Will Rogers constructed in nearby Claremore on the site purchased by Rogers in 1911 for his retirement home. On May 19, 1944, Rogers's body was moved from a holding vault in Glendale, California, to the tomb. After his wife Betty died later that year, she was also interred there. A casting of the Davidson sculpture that stands in National Statuary Hall, paid for by Davidson, was installed at the museum. Both the birthplace and the museum are open to the public. Many landmarks were named in Rogers' honor: Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, where a recent expansion and renovation included
Will Rogers Memorial April 21, 1938, with Will's sister, Sallie Rogers McSpadden, turning the first spade full of dirt. Construction was completed November 4, 1938, on what would have been Rogers' 59th birthday. The museum opened in 1938, three years after Rogers' death. An addition was constructed in 1983. The rotunda contains a famous sculpture of Will Rogers by artist Jo Davidson. The pedestal is inscribed with a famous quotation by Rogers, "...I never met a man I didn't like." The statue is another cast of the work that the artist created in 1938 and which has represented the state in the National