Great Plains Country, Oklahoma
In southwestern Oklahoma the golden shortgrass prairie extends for mile after undulating mile, mirroring the sky in its vastness. Less than a century and a half ago, the Southern Plains were the domain of the Kiowa and Comanche, who hunted buffalo on horses bridled with Spanish silver and traded with the Wichitas, farmers who lived in grass houses. To the Kiowa, the earth was sacred, and the Wichitas believed their ancestors lived on in the 650-million-year-old granite boulders of the Wichita Mountains. Travelers exploring the region today may encounter moments of similar reverence -- watching the sun set from atop Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, for instance, or watching an eagle soar in winter. A rowdier spirit lives endures in the area, too: Teddy Roosevelt created the wildlife refuge after he traveled to Oklahoma Territory to hunt wolves. Bison now graze on the 60,000-acre preserve, along with longhorn cattle, antelope and elk -- rugged mountain biking, hiking, camping and backpacking are permitted in some areas.
Explore Great Plains Country
First National Bank Building
. L. Hull, long-time president of the First National Bank, was instrumental in the construction of both the old First National Bank Building in 1909-1910 and the Carnegie Library in 1911. He is seen above in the right corner of the 1910 photo of the bank'
Cordell, OK Historic BuildingsNational Route 66 Museum
Step back in time at the National Route 66 Museum and Old Town Museum Complex. The museum focuses on the people who lived, worked and traveled "The Road" and offers visitors a road motif to travel through all eight states along Route 66 "The Mother Road".
Elk City, OK MuseumsPhilomathic Pioneer Museum
There is no better place to learn of Anadarko's pioneer past than at the Anadarko Philomathic Museum. The museum is housed in the old Rock Island Depot, the famed train station where Jesse James' mother stopped for a drink of water.
Anadarko, OK MuseumsLake Frederick
Frederick offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy nature and the great outdoors. Lake Frederick, only a few miles away, offers sites for motor homes, RVs, and tents. Visitors won'
Frederick, OK RecreationNew Holy City History Book Available
Oklahoma City author, Jacqulein Vaughn Lowry has authored a new pictorial history book about the Holy City of the Wichitas. Published by Arcadia Publishing company, the book chronicles the rich history of the Holy City from 1926
Lawton, OK LiteratureWichita Mountains - Mt. Scott
Mount Scott is one of Oklahoma's most prominent mountains, rising 2,464 feet above sea level. Located on the eastern edge of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, it is a legendary site which boasts tales of ancient spirits, Spanish gold and buried outlaw loot.
Lawton, OK Natural AttractionsHunter Park Lake
Hunter Park is a 25-acre recreational area surrounding Hunter Park Lake. The park has areas for children to play, a pavilion for families to gather for large reunions or for quiet picnics while tossing a line the lake for an afternoon of fishing.
Hobart, OK RecreationLake Lawtonka
Water recreation, camping, hunting - 2,398 surface acres and 21 miles of shoreline. Noted for smallmouth bass catch and release program. Also largemouth bass, catfish, walleye, saugeye and crappie. 30 primitive sites, group shelters, restrooms/
Medicine Park, OK RecreationDuncan Little Theatre
Duncan Little Theatre brings "live theatre" to the area by providing an extremely varied program of plays, musicals, assorted dinner theatres, and melodrama's over the course of each year.
Duncan, OK Theatres