Exploring Oklahoma History - Historic Places in Cimarron County (BlogOklahoma.us)

: Black Mesa
Black Mesa is a mesa that extends from Mesa de Maya in Colorado southeasterly 28 miles (45 km) along the north bank of the Cimarron River, crossing the northeast corner of New Mexico to end at the confluence of the Cimarron and Carrizo Creek near Kenton in the Oklahoma panhandle. Its highest elevation is over 5,700 feet (1,737 m) in Colorado; in New Mexico it attains 5,239 feet (1,597 m); and in northwestern Cimarron County, Oklahoma, it reaches 4,973 feet (1,516 m), the highest point in that state. The summit is believed to have formed ...
#landmark
: Black Mesa State Park
This park is in Oklahoma's panhandle and got its name from the layer of black lava rock that coated the mesa about 30 million years ago. The Nature Preserve is located 15 miles from the state park and features Oklahoma's highest elevation at 4,973 feet above sea level. Black Mesa State Park is adjacent to Lake Carl Etling and offers RV, tent and equestrian campsites, picnic facilities, boat ramps and a mooring buoy, trout fishing in season, a playground, restrooms with showers and a group camp with bunkhouses. *
#geology #state park
: Boise City Bombed
Boise City Bombed July 5, 1943. Still Booming July 5, 1993. Placed by Boise City area Chamber of Commerce and Cimarron County Historical Society.
#bomb #event #wwii
: Camp Nichols
Camp Nichols, also known as Fort Nichols or Camp Nichols Ranch, was a historic fortification located in present-day Cimarron County, Oklahoma. It was built by New Mexico and California volunteers under the command of Col. Kit Carson to protect travelers on the Cimarron Cut-off of the Santa Fe Trail from raids by the Kiowa and Comanche Indians. Established in 1865 and abandoned the next year, it was the only manmade structure along the Cimarron Cut-off while it was an active route. Only ruins remain. The site is located on private property ...
#camp #nrhp
: Cimarron County Courthouse
Listed in the National Register of Historical Places
#architecture #courthouse #nrhp
: Dinosaur Quarry
Statue of a dinosaur bone found in the area
#dinosaur #landmark #quarry
: Dinosaur Tracks
Located on private property, dinosaur tracks have been preserved in sandstone creek beds and are available for viewing during daylight hours. Be sure to walk down into the creek bed to see two sets of tracks.
#dinosaur #landmark
: Fort Nichols
7 mi S.W. Established in May 1865, by Kit Carson, hero of Valverde and Brig. Gen., New Mexico Volunteers, to guard Santa Fe Trail and furnish escorts for caravans engaged in Santa Fe trade. Santa Fe Trail crossed this highway here and was first traveled by William Beknell's expedition from Missouri in 1823. Oklahoma Historical Society and State Highway Commission 1940
#fort #trail
: Kenton Museum
A small native rock home built in 1902 is one of the oldest buildings in Kenton, Oklahoma. Exhibits include items that helped settle No Man's Land. Free admission, donations appreciated.
#museum
: Santa Fe Trail
Surveyed by J.C. Brown 1826-27. Heaviest traffic during California Gold Rush 1849. Abandoned on completion of A.T. & S.F. Railroad in 1880
#nts #trail
: Sante Fe Trail - NM/OK Border
Santa Fe Trail Cimarron Route 1822 - 1880 -- Marker by the High Plains Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution -- Oklahoma
#nts #trail
: The Mormon Battalion in the Oklahoma Panhandle
From September 23 through 27, 1846, the Mormon Battalion crossed the northwestern portion of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The little army's 500-plus volunteers, recruited for the Mexican War, were enlisted near Council Bluffs, Iowa, from among the first company of Mormon pioneers, who were then en-route to the Rocky Mountains. The Battalion's 2,000 mile journey from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, to San Diego, California, then the longest march by infantry in U.S. military history, traversed for a lengthy distance the Santa Fe Trail. Sixty miles ...
#mexican war #military #mormon #trail