FAIRFAX, Okla. — Fairfax, Okla. is where the movie and book Killers of the Flower Moon takes place. It's about Osage members being killed for their oil head rights in the 1920's.
Dr. Carol Conner walks the same ground murderous villains did at the turn of the 20th century.
"We all have friends who turn out to be not who we thought they were, except most were fortunate, and they didn't murder us," Conner said. "Besides being a murderer, he clearly had access to all the information about who had money and who wasn't getting money."
She's talking about William Hale - the mastermind behind the Osage murders. He found out that if non-Osages marry into an Osage family and kill them, they have full access to their oil head rights.
The 'Health Mart' on Main Street was Hale's bank. A building a half block away is where doctors would poison Osage members. The lettering of the doctor's names was painted on the windows for the movie.
"William Hale would simply walk down there, talk to his friends, and they would help poison members of the Osage Nation," Conner said.
Today, signs of William Hale's empire can still be seen in Fairfax. Original "Hale Hall" lettering can still be seen on a building once a billiard hall. The billiard hall was a spot Hale could go to rally up cowboys to shoot Osage members, Connor said.
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A church was built specifically for the set, and every house on Ash Street was painted in 1920s colors.
"Originally, every house on this block was white," Conner said.
Fairfax residents, like Connor, still wish the town could get more assistance. Most buildings are vacant, and the population has dwindled.
"Right here, in this one block area, is where people did their business of murder end enriching themselves," Conner said.
2 News visited with some Fairfax residents last year about the movie being filmed in their town:
Ironically, the town's better-looking days were when murders ran high.
The movie Killers of the Flower Moon - comes out in theaters on Friday.
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