The strange story of Oklahoma outlaw Elmer McCurdy
After Elmer McCurdy’s death, his body appeared in sideshows across the country for decades before finally being returned to Guthrie.
Addison Kliewer and Nathan J. Fish, Oklahoman
With summer break winding down, schools going back to class and fall bringing the promise of a cooler kind of fun, it’s a perfect time to make road-trip plans.
While Oklahoma City and Tulsa boast a vast array of well-documented attractions, Oklahoma is a big state with diverse landscapes, histories and communities worth exploring.
In that spirit, here are a dozen Sooner State communities where folks can find fun away from the big-city crowds:
Guthrie
Established after the Land Run of 1889, Oklahoma’s first capital wrangles abundant Victorian charm and territorial history. Part of the downtown Capitol Townsite Historic District is designated as a National Historic landmark, and the Logan County seat features several antique shops.
For history buffs, Guthrie boasts the Oklahoma Territorial Capital Sports Museum, Frontier Drugstore Museum and Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library. The latter is the go-to place to learn about famed robber-turned-mummy Elmer McCurdy, who inspired the recent hit Off-Broadway musical “Dead Outlaw.” The Boot Hill section of Guthrie’s Summit View Cemetery includes the graves of McCurdy, as well as Bill Doolin of the Doolin Gang.
Along with Guthrie and Liberty lakes, outdoorsy types can check out Avid Extreme Sports Park, Battle Park Paintball and Highland Park Disc Golf.
Plus, Guthrie is home to the Double Stop Fiddle Shop and Music Hall, Pollard Theatre, autumnal Guthrie Ghost Walks, festive Territorial Christmas Celebrations and several annual festivals.
Ardmore
The halfway mark beween Oklahoma City and Dallas, Ardmore is not only accessible by vehicle on Interstate 35 but also by rail as a stop on Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer between OKC and Fort Worth, Texas. The train stops in Ardmore at the Santa Fe Depot, which was constructed in 1918 but has been painstakingly restored.
The depot forms the eastern edge of Depot Park, home to the historic Mercy Train, which in 1915 brought supplies and emergency personnel to Ardmore after a tanker car explosion that destroyed most of downtown and killed 50 people. Visible from the park is the large-scale painting of a Chickasaw warrior that acclaimed Oklahoma muralist Bob Palmer created in 2023 on the side of the nearby 127-foot Bluebonnet Feeds silo.
The Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Museum is a hidden treasure inside Ardmore Public Library, while the Greater Southwest Historical Museum houses the Military Memorial Museum.
Families can find fun at The Clubhouse at Regional Park, which boasts an arcade, go-karts, mini golf, a ropes course, hiking trails, pickleball courts and a skate park. And Ardmore’s Lake Murray State Park is Oklahoma’s first and largest state park, consisting of 12,500 acres of forested, rolling hills around Lake Murray; the park’s diverse terrain, trails and historic sites make it a favorite destination among outdoor, water sport and ATV enthusiasts.
Broken Bow/Hochatown
Situated in the southeastern corner of Oklahoma, these neighboring McCurtain County communities have become popular vacation destinations because of the abundance of natural wonders in the area, including Beavers Bend State Park, the Mountain Fork and Glover rivers, Kiamichi Mountains and Ouachita National Forest.
Outdoor adventures abound in Broken Bow and Hochatown, including hiking, biking, boating, fishing, water skiing, canoeing, horseback riding, ziplining and more. The growth of the area as a tourist destination has brought in more wineries, breweries and restaurants, too.
The Maze of Hochatown, Choctaw Landing casino and resort, Hochatown Rescue Center & Petting Zoo and Beavers Bend Mining Co. are among the additional attractions in the area.
Bartlesville
Less than 20 miles south of the Oklahoma-Kansas line, Bartlesville has an oil-rich history: It’s home to Nellie Johnstone No. 1, the state’s first commercial oil well; Frank Phillips Home, the sumptuous town residence of oil baron Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum Company; and Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve, once Phillips’ country estate.
Bartlesville also boasts an impressive architectural history: The copper and concrete Price Tower, a hotel and arts center, is the only fully realized skyscraper designed by icon Frank Lloyd Wright, while his protege, William Wesley Peters, designed the Bartlesville Community Center. The space between is bridged by Unity Square, a green space with lovely landscaping, an amphitheater and an interactive water feature. Plus, the Sooner Park Play Tower and Redeemer Lutheran Church Education Building both were designed by well-known architect Bruce Goff, who grew up in Oklahoma.
Additional draws include the century-old steam engine at Union Depot, the free Bartlesville Area History Museum and Kiddie Park, an outdoor children’s amusement park where each ticket is 75 cents, the rides take one ticket and admission is free.
Medicine Park
Known as “America’s cobblestone community,” as well as Oklahoma’s first resort town, Medicine Park was built in 1908. Nestled in the foothills of the Wichita Mountains, the rocky red landscape gives the town a distinctively charming look.
In the middle of downtown, Bath Lake is a granite swimming pool with picturesque waterfalls, entry stairs and natural flowing waters from the nearby Medicine Creek in the summertime. In the winter, it is a fishing hole stocked with trout. Located between Lake Lawtonka and Mount Scott, the six Lawtonka Trails provide different levels of hiking challenges.
The nearly 60,000-acre Wichita Mountains Wildlife Rescue is home to American bison, Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, Texas longhorn cattle and prairie dogs, while the Medicine Park Aquarium & Natural Sciences Center has more than 90 native and non-native fish, reptile, amphibian, bird and mammal species on exhibit.
Pawhuska
The headquarters of the Osage Nation, Pawhuska is home to attractions like the Osage Nation Visitors Center, Osage Nation Museum and Osage Veterans Memorial. The Osage County Historical Society Museum delves into the history of the Osage tribe as well as of the early oil industry, the ranching business and the first American Boy Scout Troop in North America, while the Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum pays homage to the Oscar-winning Oklahoma actor.
Pawhuska also is HQ for the Food Network star Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, and it’s where her fans flock to check out The Mercantile restaurant, bakery and general store, The Boarding House eight-room inn, P-Town Pizza and Charlie’s Sweet Shop ice cream parlor. They can even poke around the set of “The Pioneer Woman” during a tour of The Lodge on Drummond Ranch.
For outdoors enthusiasts, Osage Hills State Park boasts 1,100 acres of scenery, including lush forests, rocky bluffs and serene waters, while the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the largest protected piece of tallgrass prairie left on Earth, offers visitors opportunities to watch diverse wildlife, including a vast herd of American bison, while viewing breathtaking vistas.
Pauls Valley
Another stop on the Heartland Flyer’s daily run between OKC and Fort Worth, Pauls Valley’s historic Santa Fe Depot Museum is located next to the Amtrak Station.
The Garvin County seat is home base for the world-renowned Toy and Action Figure Museum and its sister attraction, Stark Art & Gallery, as well as another artsy downtown spot, The Vault Arts Space and Gathering Place.
For a century, Field’s Pies has been baking up tasty pecan, German chocolate and lemon chess thaw-and-serve treats to ship to freezer cases in 23 states; along with the factory, which is not open to the public, Pauls Valley is home to the Thrift Shop, where pie enthusiasts can stock up on the “World’s Best” sweet treats.
Tahlequah
Situated in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains just 40 miles from the Arkansas state line, Tahlequah is the capital of both the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. The Cherokee Cultural Pathway connects the Cherokee National Historical Museum, Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum and Cherokee National Prison Museum in downtown Tahlequah.
The former home of a Northeast State College professor, Franklin Castle is a popular local landmark, and classic television fans will want to search for the grave of America’s favorite talking horse, Mister Ed.
Centered in the midst of the Illinois River Valley, with Lake Tenkiller and Lake Fort Gibson nearby, Tahlequah is spilling over with opportunities for floating, boating, fishing, hiking and camping. Travelers can take in the natural wonders from the comfort of their cars by driving the Cherokee Hills Scenic Byway.
Chickasha
Over the past three decades, the nationally renowned Festival of Light in Shannon Springs Park has helped establish Chickasha as a go-to Sooner State holiday destination.
But the 50-foot-tall Chickasha Leg Lamp, a towering fiberglass statue — yeah, a statue — based on the iconic prop from the beloved movie “A Christmas Story,” has given the Grady County seat a big-time year-round boost. Since it bowed in fall 2022, the leg has kicked off a new phase of development in downtown Chickasha, from the Downtown Mercantile & Chickasha Visitors Center to El Cheto’s Mexican Food at the Town’s End Chickasha distillery.
Other local attractions include the Chief Drive-In Theatre, Grady County Museum and University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma’s downtown Art Wrecker Studios.
Enid
In the Garfield County seat, the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center explores Enid’s Land Run history, the Railroad Museum of Oklahoma houses one of the largest collections of railroad material in the country, and Simpson’s Old Time Museum and Skeleton Creek Productions Movie Studio revisits the Old West.
For families, the interactive indoor exhibits at Leonardo’s Children’s Museum are matched with the Adventure Quest, the world’s largest community-built outdoor playground, which features a three-story castle, slides, mazes, bridges, gardens, sand play areas and a water table. Through Labor Day weekend, the local Kiwanis Club is offering Ferris wheel, carousel and train rides at Meadowlake Park, where miniature golf and paddleboats also are among the draws.
And Red Bird Farms is cultivating a year-round slate of agricultural experiences; through Sept. 15, it’s U-Pick Flowers from 5 to 9 p.m. daily.
Weatherford
Travelers can go west to get their kicks on Route 66 in Weatherford, and Lucille’s Roadhouse pays homage to the town’s Mother Road roots with its 1950s diner style of polished chrome and glass brick and its down-home menu featuring hand-breaded chicken fried steak, pulled pork cheese fries and hamburger steak.
Named for the late astronaut and Weatherford native Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, the Smithsonian affiliate Stafford Air & Space Museum boasts the actual Gemini VI capsule, a rare Titan II rocket and the real-life flight pressure suit Stafford wore on Apollo 10. Actual flown aircraft, including an A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-4 Phantom and a F-104C Starfighter, are on view on the grounds, while full-size replicas of the Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis and Apollo Command Module also are on display.
The Weatherford Wind Energy Center showcases an actual 122-foot-long blade from a wind turbine, while the Heartland of America Museum off Interstate 40 spotlights many artifacts from the late 1800s through the 1950s, including a Bell UH-1D Iroquois, a variant of the U.S. Army helicopter commonly known as the “Huey,” a tiny Route 66 diner where Elvis Presley ate three times and a 1931 Ford Model “A” 3-speed sports coupe.
Duncan
The Stephens County seat is considered the “Crapemyrtle Capital of Oklahoma,” so summer, when the colorful crapemyrtles are blooming, is arguably the best time to visit.
But Duncan’s true claim to fame is its location in Western history: The legendary Chisholm Trail ran right through Duncan on its route from the stockyards in Fort Worth to the cattle-shipping depot at Abilene, Kansas. Between 1867 and 1877, more than 3 million head of cattle passed along the Chisholm Trail in Oklahoma.
The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center traces that history through fine art and interactive exhibits, plus staff can direct explorers to the remains of the trail and the legendary landmark Monument Hill.
Other Duncan attractions that delve into the community’s rich history include the Rock Island 905 Museum & Travel Center, Foreman Prairie House and Stephens County Historical Museum.
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Publish date : 2024-08-11 00:00:00
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