Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Chickasaw National Recreation Area
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location Murray County, Oklahoma, USA
Nearest city Sulphur, OK
Area 9,888.83 acres (4,002 ha)
Established July 1, 1902
Visitors 1,275,733 (in 2004)
Governing body National Park Service

Chickasaw National Recreation Areais a National Recreation Area situated in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains in south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur.

Contents

History

Established as Sulphur Springs Reservation on July 1, 1902; renamed and redesignated Platt National Park on June 29, 1906; combined with the Arbuckle Recreation Area and additional lands and renamed and redesignated on 17 March 1976. Of the park's 9,888.83 acres (4,002 ha), water covers 2,409 acres (975 ha). The park contains many fine examples of 1930's Civilian Conservation Corps architecture. CCC workers created pavilions, park buildings, and enclosures for the park's many natural springs.[1]

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area preserves partially forested hills of south-central Oklahoma near Sulphur. Named to honor the Chickasaw Indian Nation, who were relocated to the area from the Southeastern United States during the 1830s (and who later sold the original 640 acres (260 ha) of land for the park to the Federal government), the park's springs, streams, and lakes provide swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, camping, and hiking. As part of the Chickasaw tribe's arrangement with the U.S. government, the park does not charge an admission fee.

Commemorative Coin

In 2011, the United States Mint issued a quarter featuring the Chickasaw's Lincoln Bridge, a limestone bridge built in 1909 to commemorate the 100th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, as part of its America the Beautiful Quarters series.[2]

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Further reading

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