Corporal Nathan Edward Galloway, A Soldier's Story
Corporal Nathan Edward Galloway, A Soldier's Story
Corporal Nathan Edward Galloway
Born February 18, 1879 - Died November 29, 1962
Corporal Nathan Edward Galloway was born on February 18, 1879, in Springfield. As a child, he showed an early aptitude for carving, fashioning buttons from mussel shells for his mother, an instinct toward making things by hand that would define the rest of his life.
On May 30, 1901, Galloway enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the 28th Infantry. He deployed to the Philippines during the Philippine–American War, returning home in 1904. Like many veterans of his era, he resumed civilian life quietly, supporting himself and his wife through farming while continuing to carve wooden furniture and small decorative pieces. He also maintained an art studio in Springfield, steadily building toward what he hoped would be a larger artistic future.
That future was abruptly interrupted on July 18, 1913, when a devastating fire swept through a large portion of downtown Springfield, destroying his studio and much of his work. Galloway had been preparing for a major international showing at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition; instead, he was forced to rebuild.
In the aftermath of the fire, Galloway took a position at Charles Page’s Sand Springs Boys Home in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, where he taught woodworking skills to boys in residence. He remained there until his retirement in 1937, passing on not only technical skill but discipline, patience, and pride in craftsmanship.
Retirement led him to a small farm in Foyil, where he opened another woodcarving workshop. There, Galloway produced trinkets, violins, and eventually the monumental folk art that would define his legacy: a series of totem poles, including one that reached ninety feet in height. The workshop and towering structures became a popular roadside stop for travelers along U.S. Route 66, drawing visitors long before roadside art was fashionable.
Corporal Nathan Edward Galloway died on November 29, 1962, and is buried at Chelsea Cemetery.
Note: Not all of his Springfield-era work was lost in the fire. A carved piece titled “Lion in a Cage,” made from a single sycamore log, survives and can be seen at Dickerson Park Zoo.
Galloway’s legacy isn’t confined to archives or footnotes—it still rises from the Oklahoma landscape. I share more about visiting his totem poles in Foyil in a Take the Back Roads essay.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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