In the late 1800s and early 1900s, hundreds of visitors arrived daily by train and buggy to a scenic area known today as Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur. Word had spread about the abundant fresh and healing mineral water springs, considered by Native Americans to be where spirits could soothe both the body and soul.
The town of Sulphur Springs quickly developed around the area as the springs continued to attract large numbers of visitors, causing concern among the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes who decades earlier had been forced to travel the Trail of Tears and settle in Indian Territory.
Wanting to preserve the springs, and fearing private developers and large resorts, the Chickasaw tribe ceded 640 acres, including 33 springs, to the federal government. The mineral water was believed to have healing power, so much so that early on a local doctor’s prescription was needed to bottle it.
The Sulphur Springs Reservation was established in 1902, opened to the public two years later and on June 29, 1906, was redesignated and renamed Platt National Park. It was named to honor Connecticut Sen. Orville H. Platt, who years earlier had introduced legislation to safeguard the area.
Lincoln Bridge, built in 1909 to commemorate President Lincoln’s 100th birthday, was the first major structure in the park. Restrooms with plumbing and improved roads soon followed, though many early improvements are still in place.
Platt was the smallest national park and the seventh in the United States. Its central location and abundance of both fresh and mineral water springs, along with a natural environment, appealed to visitors from Oklahoma and surrounding states.
The mineral springs became a popular spa-like destination, and the park often welcomed more guests than other national parks. In 1914, Platt National Park, known as the playground of the Southwest, reportedly had more visitors than Yosemite or Yellowstone.
Improvements continued in the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps built campgrounds, pavilions, dams, winding trails and roads. More than 500,000 trees were planted and a pasture for bison was created, along with small waterfalls that spill into cool water. The CCC work crew at Platt numbered about 200 workers on any given day between 1933 and 1940.
In 1969, the Travertine Nature Center was built with rock and architectural lines that mirrored the style of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This main visitor center with exhibits, live animals and an interactive learning center was the last major addition to Platt National Park.
Though popular, the park lacked the grandness and size of other national parks. In 1976, Platt and the Arbuckle Recreation Area, along with Lake of the Arbuckles, were combined and renamed the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The name honored those who first offered the land for the park. Later Veterans Lake was included in the recreation area which now encompasses almost 10,000 acres, including 23 springs that still exist.
Platt National Park District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011, follows the historical boundaries of the original park along with trails, structures and stories from earlier years and how it has evolved. There are six campgrounds but no cabins.
The Chickasaw recreation area is not a national park, but it is operated by the National Park Service. And there is no admission fee, continuing an agreement that was made when the land was sold more than a century ago.
In those olden days, visitors came by buggy and train. Today they arrive to this Oklahoma oasis by car, but often come for the same reason — the cool, refreshing and hopefully healing water.
