Stine-Bradbury Mansion

Stine- Bradbury Mansion is Woodward’s only home on the National Register of Historic Places. Mansion has interesting history. When Woodward banker Len. L. Stine had his beautiful, large home built in 1916 dying poor was probably the last thing on his mind. Stine was the owner of Woodward’s First National Bank which was built on the corner of 8th and Main in 1901. Fifteen years later he built the elaborate mansion that is known today as the Stine-Bradbury House.

Stine was a prominent and wealthy man in the town and had a wife and one child. He was the first person in Woodward to purchase an electric car and it was said the car was so large an engineer’s license was required to operate it. Stine’s life of luxury came to an abrupt halt in 1932 when his bank went under.

“He had bought German war bonds,” said Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum Curator Ian Swart. “And, of course, American sentiment toward the Germans at the time wasn’t the best.”

The people of Woodward thought that the German war bonds were going to cause the loss of their money so they pulled all of their money out of the bank. The bank was forced to close. According to Swart the war bonds later turned out to be a good investment but Stine was not able to reap the benefits.

“He was a poor, poor man,” said Swart. “Another bank foreclosed on the house and his wife left him.” Swart said it is believed that Stine was living in a small shack behind the house. He did not survive much longer. According to Swart, another prominent Woodward family moved into the house shortly after its first vacancy.

Harold Bradbury, owner of Bradbury Produce, purchased the home and continued living it for many years. His son, Harold “Brad” Bradbury, Jr. also lived in the home with his wife, Maudie, for many years. Bradbury, Jr. was a local photographer and he and his wife opened Woodward’s first drive-in restaurant.

The restaurant was called the Wagon Wheel and it was located in an old guard tower shack brought to Woodward from the POW camp in Alva.

The building is still in Woodward and is now Carl’s Barber Shop. The Stine-Bradbury House is a large facility and includes a ballroom and also an elevator which was put in place in 1969. The house was the first building in Woodward to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has undergone a complete renovation in recent years and is often the site of receptions – including one for the Oklahoma Conference of Mayors this summer.