Chelsea, Oklahoma

Get ready to tip your hat to a legend: This is Dog Iron Ranch, the birthplace of Will Rogers. Born here in 1879, Will Rogers grew up on this sprawling ranch, learning the cowboy skills and homespun wisdom that would…

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…

You're driving through Rogers County, and right here is Talala, established in 1889 when the railroad first arrived. Now, the name 'Talala' is Cherokee for the red-headed woodpecker, a bird abundant along a nearby…

You're driving through Nowata, a town that hit the big time thanks to a gusher! Back in 1904, oil and gas were discovered here, turning Nowata into the heart of the world's largest shallow oil field. Imagine the…

Right here near Nowata, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of rodeo legend Everett Shaw. Born in 1908, Shaw wasn't just a champion steer roper, winning the national title six times, he was also a pioneer. In…

You're driving through Nowata, Oklahoma, a town that once hosted a future Speaker of the House and a key figure in national politics. George Blaine Schwabe arrived here in 1911, practicing law and becoming deeply…

You're driving through Nowata County, a place whose name has a fascinating origin. It comes from the Delaware Indian word 'no-we-ata,' meaning 'come here' or 'welcome.' But here's the twist: when the railroad built a…

Right here, near Oologah, was the birthplace of Will Rogers, Oklahoma's favorite son and one of America's most beloved humorists. Born November 4, 1879, in Indian Territory, Rogers grew up on his father's ranch,…

Right here, on U.S. Highway 169, you're passing through Oologah, the birthplace of one of America's most beloved humorists: Will Rogers. Born just outside this town in 1879, Rogers would go on to become a national…

You're driving through Oklahoma, and you might be passing by one of the most common, yet distinctive, house styles in the state: the I-House. Coined by a geographer back in 1936, the name comes from states like Indiana…

You're driving through Pryor Creek, a town that boomed thanks to World War II. Right here, during the war, the federal government built the massive Oklahoma Ordnance Works munitions plant. At its peak, this plant…

You're driving through Mayes County, just north of Pensacola, on the old Texas Road. Right here, this spot on Cabin Creek was the site of two major Civil War battles. The first, in July of 1863, saw Union troops under…

Right here, you're driving past Pensacola, a town with roots stretching back to 1840! It started as a simple way station called Cabin Creek Crossing. During the Civil War, Union forces used it as a supply post, and the…

Right here in Claremore, you're driving through a town that owes its start to a natural wonder. Back in 1903, while drilling for oil, they hit something unexpected: artesian mineral water! People flocked here, believing…

You're driving through Osage territory, and right here, you're passing through the ancestral lands of a powerful nation. Long before Oklahoma was even a state, the Osage people dominated this region. Around 1750, they…

Right here, near Claremore, is where Rollie Lynn Riggs was born back in 1899. He grew up to become one of America's most important playwrights, a poet, and a Hollywood scriptwriter. Riggs captured the spirit of…

You're driving near Claremore, Oklahoma, and right here is the site of the village of Black Dog, a powerful Osage chief. Born around 1780, his original name meant 'Dark Eagle' or 'Sacred Little One,' but he became known…

You're driving near Claremore, Oklahoma, and this town is named for a powerful Osage chief, Gra-mo'n, known to Americans as Claremore. He was a noted warrior who led the Arkansas Band of Osage. In 1817, his village, a…

Right here in Claremore, Oklahoma, you're passing through the hometown of a true music legend: Patti Page! Born Clara Ann Fowler in 1927, she got her start singing at a Tulsa radio station. When the main singer fell…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here in Rogers County, you're passing through a place that was once the site of a fierce battle. In 1817, the Osage and Cherokee tribes clashed violently at what…

You're driving through Claremore, Oklahoma, home of astronaut Stuart Roosa! Roosa was the command module pilot for Apollo 14, the third mission to land on the moon. While his crewmates walked on the lunar surface in…

You're driving past Claremore, Oklahoma, where renowned Delaware-Shawnee-Peoria artist Ruthe Blalock Jones was born in 1939. She started painting at age ten, and by thirteen, she was winning awards at the Philbrook…

You're driving through Claremore, Oklahoma, and right here, the Oklahoma Military Academy, once known as 'the West Point of the Southwest,' stood as a testament to national pride after World War I. Established in 1919,…

You're driving past Claremore, and right here is the site of what used to be the Oklahoma Military Academy. Established in 1919, the academy was born from a post-World War I desire to instill discipline in young men.…

You're driving through Claremore, Oklahoma, and right here is a place connected to a legend of Western swing music: Leon McAuliffe. Born in Texas, McAuliffe found his musical home in Oklahoma, joining Bob Wills and His…

Right here in Rogers County, you're passing through the land of Emmet Starr, a Cherokee physician and historian who dedicated his life to preserving his people's story. Born in 1870 in what was then the Cherokee Nation,…

You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, passing through Claremore, home of Brad Carson. Carson, a member of the Cherokee Nation, served as Oklahoma's Second District U.S. representative from 2000 to 2004. He was a…

Claremore sits on a gentle rise, a subtle shift in elevation that sets it apart from the surrounding prairie. At just under 700 feet above sea level, the town gains a slightly broader view of the rolling landscape of…

You're driving through Strang, a town that sprang up thanks to the railroad. Back in 1913, surveyors laid out this townsite in anticipation of the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. An official from the railroad named…

Right here in Pryor, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of Admiral Joseph James Clark, the U.S. Navy's first American Indian graduate of the Naval Academy! Born in 1893, Clark went on to a distinguished…

Right here in Mayes County, you're driving through a place that holds some of Oklahoma's earliest 'firsts.' Back in 1820, Union Mission was established near present-day Chouteau. This wasn't just any mission; it was the…

You're driving through Mayes County, right past the site of a massive World War II industrial powerhouse: the Oklahoma Ordnance Works. Back in 1941, as war loomed in Europe, the U.S. government needed to ramp up…

You're driving through Mayes County, Oklahoma, and right here, back in 1820, was the site of Union Mission. It was the first organized missionary effort in the region, established by Reverend Epaphras Chapman for the…

You're driving through eastern Oklahoma right now, likely on Highway 69, and you're following the path of the legendary Texas Road. Back in the 1800s, this was the main highway connecting the northern states to Texas,…

You're driving through Mayes County, near the Grand River, and right here is the Packard Site. Back in the 1960s, archaeologists digging before the Lake Hudson reservoir was built, found something amazing. Two…