The new Blaine County jail is taking shape on the site of the old cheese factory in Watonga. We are reminded of a tragic murder which was to become of international importance that took place in Blaine County, 1898. The murderer was housed for years in the county jail.
Mrs. Ferguson in her book “ They Carried the Torch: relates: “A scion of German royalty, whose family name was linked with that of the Hohonzollerns, the von Moltkes, and other famous German names in history prior to the World War. (Conrad) Maas, committed the offense of falling in love with, eloping and marrying a daughter of the people. His family protested, army heads (he was a Major in the German Army) attempted to show him his error and society was horrified, but Maas married her and came to America.
Coming to America with his wife (Martha) they located on a claim (remote Blaine County 4 miles west of Bridgeport). He had no training for such a life (he built a dugout and planted maize and other crops). It was the farthest removed imaginable from the uniform of the German army and the dress costume of the Berlin ballroom.
Life became sordid on an Oklahoma claim, way out on the then pioneer border in western Oklahoma. He became morose…and he committed one of the most dastardly and bloodthirsty crimes in the annals, not only Oklahoma, but the entire West. He murdered his bride with an axe and fled from the scene. There was no compassion then for Maas … and he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment (with hard labor) in the state penitentiary.
During territorial days Oklahoma prisoners were kept under contract in the Kansas state penitentiary, and Maas was among those imprisoned there. He was an unruly prisoner, and they wanted to get rid of him. He was adjudged insane by the Kansas board and sent back to Blaine County jail. Here he was pronounced sane and appeals denied Casetext.com He was confined many years to the Blaine County jail. After statehood and a penitentiary had been built in McAlester he was taken there where he employed his spare time in painting pictures for which he had considerable talent. Maas died at McAlester a few months ago” (April 5, 1936).
McAlester News.
“For a long period of years every governor of Oklahoma, both territorial and state, was petitioned to pardon Maas. It was understood that his wealthy, prominent family back in Berlin offered large amounts of money to secure his release from prison. It happened that Tom (T.B) Ferguson, the Watonga Republican editor had become territorial governor, but he would not permit any leniency in the Maas case, and it was Ferguson who stood between him a pardon, for a number of years.”
A more recent account is available published in McAlester News-Capital. The news report focuses on Maas’s production of paintings while in McAlester. One of the more famous was of Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing to Egypt. Some of his large murals (8x10 feet) hung in the cafeteria of the prison. Visitors and inmates all were amazed. Unfortunately, in the 1980s, the paintings were removed for renovations and stored poorly, eventually ruining. A cost of $300,000 was estimated to restore them. As of October 2023, some of the paintings had been retrieved by a former district attorney (Corgan) and sent to a local artist for restoration according to the. McAlester News.
We thank all who are participating in the restoration of the T.B. Ferguson Home Museum, an important landmark and tourist destination in Watonga. We cannot afford to let the historic home (only two homes of Territorial Governors remain) go the way of Maas’s paintings. Let’s give it proper care, and the Fergusons proper respect and honor.