Adair, Oklahoma

Right here in Chelsea, you're driving through a town that started as a railroad stop back in 1881. It was named by an official for his hometown in England. Chelsea was incorporated under the Cherokee Nation in 1889, and…

You're driving through Rogers County, Oklahoma, and right here is a place tied to a significant Cherokee leader, J. Bartley Milam. Born in Texas in 1884, Milam grew up in Chelsea, Oklahoma. He became a successful…

You're driving through Rogers County, not far from Chelsea. Back in 1887, Edward Byrd, a Cherokee citizen, organized the United States Oil and Gas Company. He'd discovered an oil spring here a few years earlier and…

You're driving through Oklahoma, but the story of this land goes way back, long before statehood. Right here, near the Three Forks of the Arkansas River, Jean Pierre Chouteau established a permanent trading post in…

Right here, you're passing by the legacy of Oklahoma's first hydroelectric dam: the Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam. Construction kicked off in 1938 and wrapped up in 1941, creating the massive Lake O'…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through a landscape that was once explored by none other than the famous American author, Washington Irving. Back in 1832, Irving, known for 'Rip Van…

You're driving past Salina, right where the Grand River meets Lake Hudson. This spot has a history stretching back to 1817, when Auguste Chouteau set up a trading post here. But it really got its name from the salt…

You're driving through Mayes County, near Salina, where Auguste Pierre Chouteau once ran the most powerful trading operation in Oklahoma. This "Colonel" Chouteau, son of a famous fur trader, learned the business early.…

You're driving through Langley, right on the west end of the Pensacola Dam, the massive structure holding back Grand Lake. This whole project kicked off in 1935 and wrapped up in 1941, costing a whopping 22 million…

You're driving past Grand Lake Towne, a tiny community nestled on the shores of Grand Lake. What's interesting here is how it came to be. After the Pensacola Dam created this huge lake back in 1940, people started…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, not far from where one of America's greatest baseball legends was born: Mickey Mantle. Born in Spavinaw in 1931, Mantle grew up in Commerce and became known as the 'Commerce…

Right here, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, you're driving through a town with roots stretching back to 1829. Lewis Rogers, son of Captain John Rogers, set up shop here, building a mill, a distillery, and a salt works along…

You're driving through Rogers County, and right here in Bushyhead is where Clem Rogers McSpadden was born in 1925. Now, you might not know the name, but you've likely heard his voice. McSpadden became rodeo's unofficial…

Get ready to see something massive! This dam didn't just create a lake; it was a game-changer for Oklahoma. Back in the 1930s, folks dreamed of controlling the Grand River for power and to prevent floods. So, they built…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the hometown of a national sports legend! In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1928</say-as>, Andy Payne, a Cherokee runner from near Foyil,…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here is the incredible Totem Pole Park near Foyil. This place is the lifelong work of Ed Galloway, a self-taught artist who moved to Oklahoma in 1914. After…

Commemorating the forced Cherokee removal of 1838. Multiple sites along the 5000-mile route.

Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving past a testament to artistic vision that defied convention! We're talking about folk art, the creative spirit of everyday Oklahomans. Think unique paintings, handmade toys, even…

You're driving past Foyil, Oklahoma, right on historic Route 66. This town owes its start to Alfred Foyil, who became postmaster in 1890. His farmland became the townsite, and he owned the general store. By 1911, Foyil…

You're driving through Ketchum, Oklahoma, and right here is a town with a wild west streak! The First State Bank, founded in 1913, became a target for outlaws. In 1923, bandits robbed the bank and killed cashier Frank…

You're driving past the town of Disney, Oklahoma, named after a congressman who became known as the "watchdog of the Treasury." Wesley Ernest Disney served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, championing…

You're driving past Disney, right on the east end of Pensacola Dam. This town, and its neighbor Langley, owe their existence to the massive Grand Lake dam project that kicked off in 1935. Disney itself was founded in…

Folk art environment near Foyil featuring the world's largest concrete totem pole at 90 feet, hand-built by retired art teacher Ed Galloway.

The world's largest totem pole at 90 feet. Hand-built folk art in rural Oklahoma.

You're driving through Nowata County, right past New Alluwe. This place has a story that's all about boom and bust, thanks to oil. In 1905, a big oil discovery turned this quiet spot into a boomtown. Suddenly,…

You're driving through Mayes County, and right here, you're passing through Locust Grove. This town's name comes from a Civil War battle fought right in these locust thickets back in 1862. Federal troops surprised a…

You're driving past Locust Grove, Oklahoma, in Mayes County. Right here, on July 3rd, 1862, a surprise Union attack shattered Confederate hopes in the Cherokee Nation. Union troops under Colonel William Weer overwhelmed…

You're driving through Mayes County, and right here near Chouteau is one of Oklahoma's most distinct communities: the Old Order Amish. They've been farming this land since 1910, drawing on traditions that go back to…

You're driving through Chouteau, a town born from the railroad in 1871. When the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway arrived, Chouteau became a terminus, and the first agent, Riley W. Lindsey, became the first settler.…

Right here, near Vinita, Elias Cornelius Boudinot's actions sparked a movement that changed Oklahoma forever. In 1869, federal authorities confiscated a tobacco factory owned by Boudinot and his uncle, Stand Watie, for…

You're driving through Vinita, and right here is the site of Galloway College, later known as Willie Halsell College. Opened in 1888, it was a Methodist school that played a surprising role in the lives of two…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, perhaps near Vinita, where one of America's first major Native American writers got his start. John Milton Oskison, born in 1874, grew up here and even attended the Willie…

You're driving through Delaware County, near the town of Vinita, where Thomas Alberter Chandler was born in 1871. He was a Cherokee man who became a prominent farmer, businessman, and oil producer. He reportedly drilled…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through land once shaped by the Halsell family. In 1872, William Halsell blazed a new trail, the Halsell Branch of the Chisholm Trail,…

Right here, west of Vinita, is where Patrick Shanahan waged his own private war against a railroad back in 1882. An Irish immigrant who'd married a Cherokee citizen, Shanahan refused to let the St. Louis and San…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the ghost of a railroad giant: the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, better known as the Frisco. This wasn't just any train line; by the early…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, in Vinita, was born Michael Synar. He wasn't just any politician; he was a force in Congress for sixteen years, representing Oklahoma's Second District.…

Right here in Vinita, you're driving through a town with a name that almost wasn't! It started about two miles south, but a railroad reroute changed everything. Elias Boudinot named the original site for his friend, the…

You're driving through what used to be Indian Territory, and right here, you're passing through the heart of a powerful cattlemen's alliance. In 1892, in Vinita, leaders from various Indian nations came together to form…

You're driving through Northeast Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through Vinita, the town that was home to James Sanford Davenport for much of his life. Davenport was a key figure in Oklahoma's early statehood,…

You're driving through what used to be the Cherokee Nation, and right here is where Nathaniel Skinner, a Kentucky transplant, built a life as a cattle baron. He arrived in the 1870s, married a Cherokee citizen in 1879,…

You're driving through Rogers County, not far from Sageeyah, where a brutal battle unfolded in October of 1817. This was the Battle of Claremore Mound. Western Cherokee warriors, allied with other tribes and even some…