Black Mesa Nature Preserve was assembled in parcels over many years, beginning in 1959 when the State of Oklahoma purchased 100 acres on top of the mesa. In 1989, the Nature Conservancy acquired 1500 acres on the north and east of the mesa and transferred it to the State of Oklahoma two years later with restrictions and easements to protect the mesa's natural and cultural resources. In 1992, the Nature Conservancy purchased another 160 acres and transferred ownership to the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, enlarging the preserve to its current size of 1,760 acres. On top of Black Mesa stands a beautiful eight-foot-tall granite monument marking it as the highest point in Oklahoma at 4973 feet above sea level. The obelisk was donated by Jenkin Lloyd Jones, publisher of the Tulsa Tribune, and was designed by Bill Willis, whose company, Willis Granite Products of Granite, Oklahoma, quarried, fabricated, and placed it on top of Black Mesa in 1960.