The Rock House in Harrah
Nominating the Rock House to the National Register
The Rock House was designed and built by owner Frank Primm for himself and his wife Lillian. The story of Harrah’s settlement and the owner’s employment at OG&E combine beautifully with national historic trends of expanding infrastructure and presents itself as a lovely work of outsider architecture. The home itself stands out for its historic integrity, distinctive design, and workmanship.
The home is a hyper-localized adaptation of the 20th century Tudor Revival style. Situated in a low-density, mixed-use neighborhood in Harrah, Oklahoma, the property features several harmoniously developed contributing resources. These include the Rock House itself, the Site, a Garage Apartment, Lake, and Rock Garden. Non-contributing elements include a replacement Windmill and the Uhland Monument.
Beyond the project’s eligibility, the story of Frank Primm is just interesting. After losing significant weight, Primm was warned by his doctor to take up some kind of physical activity or face grave consequences. The physical activity that he chose for himself was to build this house, first building the guest apartment in 1930, then collecting free local rock and developing the site until 1939. Then he turned to building the main house, which was complete enough to inhabit by 1942. The Primm family’s time there unfortunately ended in 1953 when Frank was disabled in an automobile accident, forcing the family to sell the house.
This project, completed in January of 2024, was a joint effort between Michael Höffner, AIA and Kelsee Watts, Assoc. AIA.
View the nomination - click any image below and use the navigation arrows to browse the document. Press Esc to exit the viewer.
