Editing Will Rogers (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Willrogersmemorial1.JPG|thumb|right|Will Rogers' tomb, viewed from the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma]]
In 1962, the town of [[Higgins, Texas]], (near a ranch where Rogers had worked in 1922), began an annual observance of Will Rogers Day, in honor of the cowboy philosopher, who remained a close friend of Frank Ewing, the son of his old employer.

Rogers was posthumously inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in Dayton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Will Rodgers |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/will-rodgers/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=February 28, 2023}}</ref>

The [[Tulsa World]] newspaper includes a quote from Rogers daily in its "Will Rogers Says" column.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://tulsaworld.com/will-rogers-says/article_9360db90-a3d6-538b-bba8-c0629a51cc43.html |title=Will Rogers says|date=July 13, 2024 |publisher=Tulsa World, July 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://tulsaworld.com/will-rogers-says/article_c8eafcdc-309a-57f5-9149-c001fafe3ef9.html|title=Will Rogers says|date=April 14, 2024 |publisher=Tulsa World, April 14, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://tulsaworld.com/will-rogers-says/article_1d976d37-daba-5b39-8f88-cf60bee62944.html|title=Will Rogers says|date=January 18, 2024 |publisher=Tulsa World, January 18, 2024}}</ref>

===Oklahoma honors===
Before his death, the state of Oklahoma commissioned a statue of Rogers, to be displayed as one of the two it has in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]] of the [[United States Capitol]]. Rogers agreed on the condition that his image would be placed facing the House Chamber, supposedly so he could "keep an eye on Congress". Of the statues in this part of the Capitol, the Rogers sculpture is the only one facing the Chamber entrance—a stakeout location for camera crews looking to catch House members during and after voting. It is also a common background for reporters and lawmakers, with staff often directing the media to be at the "Will Rogers stakeout" at a certain time. According to some Capitol guides, each U.S. president rubs the left shoe of the Rogers statue for good luck before entering the House Chamber to give the [[State of the Union]] address.<ref>{{cite news| title =Police Dept., police explorers strolls through the streets of the U.S. Capitol, stops for visits| work =[[The Anderson Independent-Mail]]| date =July 18, 2007| url =http://www.independent-mail.com/news/2007/jul/18/police-dept-police-explorers-strolls-through-stree/| access-date =July 20, 2007| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070930174848/http://www.independent-mail.com/news/2007/jul/18/police-dept-police-explorers-strolls-through-stree/| archive-date =September 30, 2007| df =mdy-all}}</ref>

A state appropriation paid for the work. It was sculpted in clay by [[Jo Davidson]]. He had been a close friend of Rogers. Davidson had the work cast in bronze in [[Brussels]], Belgium. It was dedicated on June 6, 1939, before a crowd of more than 2,000&nbsp;people. The [[Architect of the Capitol]], David Lynn, said there had never been such a large ceremony or crowd in the Capitol.<ref name="curtis"/>

His [[Dog Iron Ranch|birthplace]] at the Dog Iron Ranch is located two miles east of Oologah, Oklahoma. When the [[Verdigris River]] valley was flooded to create [[Oologah Lake]] as part of a major dam project, the Rogers house was preserved by moving it about {{convert|3/4|mi|km}} to its present location overlooking the original site.

The family tomb is at the [[Will Rogers Memorial Museum]], constructed in nearby Claremore on the site purchased by Rogers in 1911 for his retirement home. On May 19, 1944,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/243344457|title=Body of Will Rogers to be Sent Home|date=May 19, 1944|work=The Daily Tribune|access-date=March 8, 2017|page=1|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Rogers's body was moved from a holding vault in Glendale, California,<ref name=":0" /> 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.

[[File:Will Rogers Field Dedication WPA Poster.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] poster, 1941]]

Many landmarks were named in Rogers' honor: [[Will Rogers World Airport]] in [[Oklahoma City]], where a recent expansion and renovation included the installation of a [[Oklahoma's Native Son|statue of Rogers on horseback]] in front of the terminal. The [[Will Rogers Turnpike]] is the section of [[Interstate 44]] between Tulsa and [[Joplin, Missouri]]. Near [[Vinita, Oklahoma]], a statue of Rogers was installed at the [[McDonald's (Will Rogers Turnpike)|service plaza]] that spans the interstate.

Thirteen public schools in Oklahoma have been named for Rogers, including [[Will Rogers High School]] in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma|Tulsa]]. The [[University of Oklahoma]] named the large Will Rogers Room in the [[Memorial Union (University of Oklahoma)|student union]] for him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://union.ou.edu/content/view/20/7/ |title=Oklahoma Memorial Union – Will Rogers Room |publisher=Union.ou.edu |access-date=August 14, 2009}}</ref> The [[Boy Scouts of America]] honored him with the Will Rogers Council and the [[Scouting in Oklahoma#Camp Properties 3|Will Rogers Scout Reservation]] near [[Cleveland]].

In 1947, a college football [[Will Rogers Bowl|bowl game]] was named in his honor, but the event folded after the first year.

The [[Academy of Western Artists]], based in [[Gene Autry, Oklahoma]], presents an annual Will Rogers Medallion award for excellence in western literature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cowboypoetry.com/willrogers.htm#2012|title=Will Rogers Medallion Award|publisher=cowboypoetry.com|access-date=July 3, 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma 2021091100008.jpg|thumb|Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma]] [[File:Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma 2021091100011.jpg|thumb|Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma]]

===Colorado memorial===
The [[Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun]] is an 80-foot observation tower on Cheyenne Mountain west of Colorado Springs, at the base of [[Pikes Peak]] near the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

===California memorials===
[[File:Will Rogers' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6401 Hollywood Blvd.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|Rogers' star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], at 6401 Hollywood Blvd]]

Rogers's California home, stables, and polo fields were preserved from 1944 to 2025 for public enjoyment as [[Will Rogers State Historic Park]] in [[Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles|Pacific Palisades]]. His widow, Betty, willed the property to the state of California upon her death in 1944, under the condition that polo be played on the field every year; it is home to the [[Will Rogers Polo Club]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.willrogerspolo.org/polo.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429120453/http://www.willrogerspolo.org/polo.html|url-status=dead|title=Will Rogers Polo Club|archive-date=April 29, 2009}}</ref> The house and stables burnt down during the [[Palisades Fire]] on January 8, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palisades Fire Destroys Historic Homes and Buildings at Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park |url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1346 |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=California State Parks}}</ref>

[[File:Route66willrogersmonument.JPG|thumb|upright=1|Will Rogers Monument, at the western terminus of [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]]]]

Several schools have been named for him: Will Rogers Elementary School in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], Will Rogers Elementary School in Ventura, middle schools in [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] and in [[Fair Oaks, California|Fair Oaks]].

[[Will Rogers Memorial Park]], a small park at [[Sunset Boulevard]] and [[Beverly Drive]] in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]], was named after him, as is [[Will Rogers State Beach]] in [[Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles|Pacific Palisades]].

[[U.S. Route 66]] is known as the Will Rogers Highway; a plaque dedicating the highway to the humorist is located at the western terminus of Route 66 in Santa Monica.

The [[California Theatre (San Bernardino)|California Theatre]] in San Bernardino is the site of the humorist's final show. He always performed in front of a special jewelled curtain and had two of them. While he was using one, he would send the other to the site of his next performance. The curtain used in his final show was retained by the California Theatre. Two memorial murals by [[Kent Twitchell]] were installed on the exterior of the fly loft. The California Theatre named one of its reception spaces the Will Rogers Room.

===Texas memorials===
The [[Will Rogers Memorial Center]] was built in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], in 1936. It includes:
* Will Rogers Coliseum (5,652 seats)
* Will Rogers Auditorium (2,856 seats)
* Will Rogers Equestrian Center
as well as other buildings. It also includes a mural, a bust and a life-size statue of Will Rogers on Soapsuds, titled ''[[Riding into the Sunset]]'', sculpted by Electra Waggoner Biggs.

[[File:TTU Will Rogers 3.jpg|thumb|''[[Riding into the Sunset]]'', depicting Rogers riding his horse Soapsuds, on the campus of [[Texas Tech University]]]]

A casting of ''Riding into the Sunset'' stands at the entrance to the main campus quad at [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock, Texas]]. This memorial was dedicated on February 16, 1950, by Rogers' longtime friend, [[Amon G. Carter]]. Another casting is held at the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, and a casting is located at the entrance of the [[Hilton Anatole]] in Dallas.

===Washington State and Alaska memorials===
Before heading up to Alaska, Rogers played polo at a field in Seattle. This was his "last ride" on a horse, so a monument was erected next to the field in 1938.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monument: Will Roger's Last Polo Match |website=RoadsiteAmerica.org |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/35029 |access-date=|date=November 16, 2023}}</ref> A small monument at the [[Renton, Washington|Renton]] airport commemorates the starting point of the fatal 1935 Post-Rogers flight.<ref>{{cite web |last=Boba |first=Eleanor |date=November 17, 2014  |title=Point of No Return: The Will Rogers-Wiley Post Memorial Seaplane Base (Renton) |website=HistoryLink.org |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/10972 |access-date=July 27, 2022}}</ref> A memorial is also located within the city of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jeffrey |first=Wade H. |date=September 1, 2003 |title=Utqiagvik, AK - Wiley Post and Will Rogers Crash Memorial |website=Roadside America |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/8065 |access-date=July 27, 2022}}</ref>

===National tributes===
[[File:Will Rogers 3c 1948 issue U.S. stamp.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|US Post Office stamp, 1948]]

In 1936, the NVA Hospital located in [[Saranac Lake, New York]], was renamed as the [[Will Rogers Memorial Hospital]] by the National Vaudeville Artists association.<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3590|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Will Rogers Memorial Hospital|date=July 1983|access-date=July 10, 2010|author=Raymond W. Smith|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127115828/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3590|archive-date=January 27, 2012}}</ref>

On November 4, 1948, the [[United States Post Office Department|United States Post Office]] commemorated Rogers with a three-cent postage stamp. In 1979, it issued a [[United States Postal Service]] 15-cent stamp of him as part of the "Performing Arts" series.

In 1976, Rogers was among the historical figures depicted in the artwork ''[[United States Bicentennial|Our Nation's 200th Birthday]], [[Invention of the telephone|The Telephone's 100th Birthday]]'' by [[Stanley Meltzoff]] for [[Bell System]].<ref>[https://www.jklmuseum.com/tag/stanley-meltzoff/ "Stanley Meltzoff Archives: The 1976 Bell System Telephone Book Cover"] [[JKL Museum of Telephony]] (December 19, 2015); retrieved March 16, 2021</ref>

The airport for [[Utqiagvik, Alaska|Utqiagvik]] (formerly Barrow), Alaska (BRW), located about {{convert|16|mi|km}} from the location of the fatal airplane crash, is known as the [[Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport]].

The [[Rogers-Post Site]], overlooking the lagoon where the plane crashed, has two (or possibly one remaining) monuments. It is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. A plaque to Rogers and Post was also erected in Barrow.

The [[World War II]] [[Liberty Ship]] {{SS|Will Rogers}} was named in his honor.

The final ship of the {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine}}s, {{USS|Will Rogers|SSBN-659}}, was launched in 1966, and commissioned the following year.

On November 4, 2019, Google celebrated his 140th birthday with a [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://doodles.google/doodle/will-rogers-140th-birthday/|title=Will Rogers' 140th Birthday|website=Google|date=November 4, 2019}}</ref>