As a National Park System unit, Chickasaw joined the million-a-year visitation club way back in and is still going strong 1.
History is another story, for it is anything but usual in that respect. Therein lies an interesting and cautionary tale. The dawn of the 20th century found Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians in Murray County, Oklahoma, fearing that private developers would create a spa resort like the one at Hot Springs, Arkansas, and bar their access to around 30 strong-smelling mineral springs with reputed healing powers.
To prevent this from happening, they sold acres of their land near the town of Sulphur to the federal government, which earmarked it for public use. On July 1, , Congress designated this one square-mile tract soon expanded to acres Sulphur Springs Reservation. Few national parks could have had more humble beginnings.
None was launched for more blatantly political reasons than helping Indians retain access to healing waters. This nondescript tract with its cluster of mineral springs was now, at least conceptually, in the same league as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, and Crater Lake National Parks. The new designation honored Orville Hitchcock Platt, a U. Senator from Connecticut. Though seemingly bizarre, this label made sense when viewed through the filter of national politics.
Platt, who served with distinction in the U. Senate for just over a quarter-century , was not only very actively involved in Indian Affairs and the Dawes Commission, but also sponsored the legislation that established the Sulphur Springs Reservation in By the time Platt died on April 21, , the idea of formally recognizing his contributions to the country, and in behalf of Indians and the new park, was well established.
The little park had some problems that no naming decision could cure. It was not only off the beaten path and very small one of the smallest National Park-designated units ever established , but also lacking in physical and cultural attributes that could pass the national significance test. It was, in brief, a moderately scenic tract of land and water whose root appeal — the allegedly health-giving springs notwithstanding-- could be matched or eclipsed by any number of moderately scenic places in the eastern half of the United States.
During the first quarter-century of its existence, Platt National Park attracted little public notice and few visitors from outside the region. It also suffered for want of funds and physical improvements.
To entertain visitors, deer, bison, and elk were kept on the premises some bison still remain. Between and , the Civilian Conservation Corps invested a lot of time, labor, and capital in an effort to make Platt National Park more deserving of its lofty title. Bulldozers resculpted the landscape, leaving various flat or gently rolling surfaces engineered to a hillier condition. Several hundred CCC workers planted trees and constructed waterfalls, ponds, trails, campgrounds, picnic areas, pavilions, parking lots, comfort stations, storm sewers, and dams.
Projects completed by the Civil Works Administration and the Public Works Administration later the Works Projects Administration also substantially improved the road system. All of this made the place more parklike, though still not patently worthy of national park status.
The investment in recreational facilities was well received by the public, and as the regional population and highway network grew, more and more people discovered the park.
The end of World War II in triggered a gush of visitation, and annual attendance was topping one million by Testifying to the power of political inertia, the property remained on the rolls as a National Park-designated unit for seven decades. The Act of June 29, 34 Stat. In creating the new Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Congress not only incorporated the former Platt National Park into its boundaries, but also added the Arbuckle Recreation Area with the 2,acre Lake of the Arbuckles and additional lands.
Platt in recognition of his distinguished ervices to the Indians and to the country. For Twenty-six years a senator from the state of Connecticut, Platt served for many years as a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs. By the time of his death in , Platt had sponsored patent and copyright legislation, chaired a committee that recommended admission of six new western states, and played an important role in the annexation of Hawaii The senator was best known, however, for the Platt Amendment.
Actually a rider attached to the Army Appropriations Bill of , the Platt Amendment established terms for the withdrawal of U. Since the Platt Amendment had the effect of making Cuba a U. The United States retained its naval base lease, however, and that is why the U. Originally known as Sulphur Springs Reservation, and later renamed Platt National Park, the park was established in through an agreement with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations and the federal government.
The Chickasaw Nation sold the land to the government in order to protect the unique freshwater and mineral springs along Travertine and Rock Creeks. Even with these protections, the popularity of the area continued to grow in the early s. Elements included mineral spring pavilions, campgrounds, picnic areas, dams and waterfalls; these were linked by a network of roads and trails.
Over one-half million trees and shrubs were planted and an ambitious silviculture program implemented. Check out our latest map and guide to the work of the New Deal in Washington, D. It includes New Deal sites in the District alone, highlighting 34 notable sites, and includes an inset map of the area around the National Mall which can be used for self-guided walking tours.
Source: National Park Service. Started: Completed: Location Info.
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