Our History

In 1978, the Kerr family donated the Robert S. Kerr home and approximately 40 acres of land to the State of Oklahoma. The site is in LeFlore county, near the City of Poteau, in scenic Southeastern Oklahoma.  We are 30 minutes from the nearest airport in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and a two-hour drive from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Kerr Center opened to the public in 1990 as the Kerr Country Mansion and Conference Center, allowing the home to be used as a bed and breakfast as well as a conference facility.

Famous Visitors

The first well-known visitor to the Kerr home was President John F. Kennedy.  He came to Southeastern Oklahoma to officially open Highway 259.  Following the dedication ceremonies at the community of Big Cedar, the President was welcomed to the Kerr home.  He spent the night of October 29, 1961 in the first room of the bedroom wing.  That room, now numbered 101, has a commemorative plaque on the door with the date of the Kennedy visit.  Inside the room are original photographs of President Kennedy with other dignitaries taken at Big Cedar, the Kerr Ranch, and the home.

Room 110 is the Johnson Room.  Lyndon Baines Johnson became friends with Kerr when both were in the Senate and he was a frequent visitor in the Kerr home.  As Vice President, LBJ stayed in the home on June 2, 1962.  His room contains pictures of the Johnson family and LBJ in the White House.

Gerald R. Ford stayed in the Kerr home on October 15, 1991, and George Bush stayed on April 7, 1994.  Both former presidents were here to speak at Carl Albert State College.  The rooms they occupied are marked with commemorative plaques.  Each room displays pictures of that individual’s visit to CASC, pictures from his Presidential term and personal photos generously supplied by their respective staffs.

Another well-known person to enjoy the Kerr Center hospitality is Carl Albert, Oklahoma’s beloved “little giant from little Dixie.”  He frequently visited his namesake college and always stayed at the Conference Center.  His room contains pictures from his political career, spanning his days as a freshman congressman through his term as Speaker of the House, family pictures and his one room schoolhouse at Bug Tussle, with all the children lined up in front.

During her reign as Miss America, Shawntel Smith stayed in the Kerr Conference Center.

In April, 1990, before his face was seen on TV sets all over American during Desert Storm, General Norman Schwarzkopf spent several hours at the Kerr Museum, next door to the Conference Center.  In appreciation, he sent the museum an autographed photo for display.

Sources

Robert S. Kerr Museum archives

Carl Albert State College archives