About Berryhill Creek

Bob and Alma Bean began the journey of Berryhill Creek in the early 1980s as they purchased multiple pieces of property totaling over 270 acres from the Sand Springs Home and began their family farm.  The beautiful farmland was perfectly placed in the foothills of Chandler Park just a few miles from downtown Tulsa connected by a meandering stream known as Berryhill Creek.

In the beginning, Bob and Alma met at Berryhill High School and were later married in May of 1948 at New Home Free Will Baptist Church next door to the property.  Bob and Alma lived in the community for over 70 years where they raised their three children Dolores, Bob Jr., and Patrick.  Bob Sr. loved going to rodeos and livestock auctions and served as the president of the Circle C Round-Up Club for several years. He loved horses and enjoyed working the property as a rancher. He worked nights as an overhead crane operator for Flint Steel Corporation for 29 years and ran his own trucking and excavating company during the day.  Alma loved cooking, hosting family dinners, and raising her children and grandchildren.  She worked as the office manager of their trucking and excavating company for many years.  Both Bob and Alma loved their school and community and could often be found at their children and grandchildren’s basketball and baseball games.

The family lost their anchor when Bob passed away in 2019.  Shortly thereafter, their daughter Dolores Bean Arrowood, was diagnosed with a rapidly progressing form of brain cancer and passed away in 2020.  Eight months later, Alma contracted Covid-19 in her assisted living facility and passed away as a result. 

Quickly, the family farm became the focus of Bob Jr., Patrick, and Jim Arrowood—Dolores’s son.  As Bob, Patrick, and Jim began to discuss the options, they realized three different families could not own the property long-term.  However, they knew they had to do their best to protect the Berryhill Community during whatever change was ahead.  The Berryhill Community is anchored by two entities—Berryhill Public Schools and Berryhill Fire Protection District.  The three agreed to do their best to protect the independence of both entities regardless of the future of the property.  Berryhill has been home to the Bean and Arrowood families for five generations. The family cares deeply for the community and its future.

As Bob Jr., Patrick, and Jim contemplated the sale or development of the property, they reviewed the sewer lift station that was placed on the property in the 1980s as a part of the Rolling Oaks subdivision development.  At that time, Bob Sr. worked with the City of Sand Springs to secure access to the sewer system for his property on the west side of 65th West Avenue—the majority of the property.  The family knew Berryhill Public Schools, however, had dealt with an aging open sewer lagoon system for decades.  Board members, government officials, school administrators, and community members had attempted to get the lagoons replaced by a sewer system since the 1970s—even Bob Jr. had served on a committee in years past to attempt to find a resolution.  Berryhill Schools approached the City of Sand Springs in the early 1990s asking the city to extend sewer service to the schools, but funding was not available at that time.  Knowing that the property would likely be sold or developed in the future and the family would no longer own the entire property providing a pathway to the existing Sand Springs lift station, it could be the school district’s last opportunity to find a resolution to the situation.  Bob Jr., Patrick, and Jim approached Mike Carter, City Manager of the City of Sand Springs, and then Berryhill Superintendent Mike Campbell to discuss the potential of bringing the sewer line to the school and eliminating the lagoon system.  All parties recognized the importance of the project, but funding, like in previous attempts, was still in question.  New Berryhill School Superintendent Mark Batt was hired and joined the effort to secure funding.  As City Manager Mike Carter and County Commissioner Karen Keith evaluated funding options, they contemplated the application for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)—a program that had recently been announced by the federal government to invest in post pandemic relief and investments in infrastructure focused on water and sewer.  Commissioner Keith then worked with her fellow commissioners and engineers along with state and federal officials to secure the $2.7 million dollars of Tulsa County ARPA funds to bring sewer to Berryhill Schools and remediate the sewer lagoon system.  On February 8th, 2022, the funding application was approved and the end to this decades long problem was in sight.  The following day school administration, city officials, county officials, and members of the family excitedly announced the project (Tulsa World).

Currently, city officials, school administration, and the family are working to engineer and construct the sewer system. 

The family is also continuing to design and engineer the potential development of Berryhill Creek with hopes of a 2025-2026 launch.  Please see our FAQs for more details. 

Bob and Alma in the 1980s