The Million Dollar Elm was an elm tree in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.[1] The tree was the site of auctions for oil leases for Osage County, since mineral rights for the county are owned by the Osage Nation.[2] The first auction was held in November 1912 with Colonel Ellsworth Walters serving as the official auctioneer.[1] The tree earned its nickname on November 11, 1912, when over $1 million in oil leases were sold under the tree.[3]
The auctions were attended by oil barons, such as Frank Phillips and E. W. Marland, as well as influential members of the Osage Nation, such as John Joseph Mathews.[4][5]
The tree died in the 1980s due to Dutch elm disease.[1]
A new Million Dollar Elm was replanted by Osage Nation Secretary Casey Johnson in 2014.[4] On April 30, 2024, the tree was chopped down by an unknown party. The Osage Nation Police Department opened an investigation into the felling May 1.[6] Cody J. Willard, a master arborist, later determined the tree had been sawed 40% through several months earlier likely with a yellow Dewalt Sawzall.[4]