At the main entrance to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge lies Medicine Park, a unique cobblestone community founded in 1908 as Oklahoma’s first tourism resort. Because this is only a 15-minute drive to my hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma, and we prefer to stay in unique places rather than hotels, it’s natural for us to rent a cobblestone cottage in Medicine Park every time we go back to visit family. We have stayed at over 10 of the cottages located in Medicine Park, and we’ve enjoyed swimming in Medicine Creek, which also includes walkways and bridges as part of Bath Lake Park.
The water is not green, as shown in the top pictures, but this is what you get when you have an amateur photographer trying to capture memories. |
The town’s history includes the likes of President Teddy Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Al Capone, Col. Jack Abernathy, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Roy Rogers, and many others. Medicine Park was a “playground” for various outlaws, horse thieves, and bootleggers, as well as politicians, businessmen, celebrities, and soldiers. The notorious Ferrell boys have been sighted here, along with their cousin Lindsey.
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Park Stomp Live Bluegrass Festival in March
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Mayor’s Red Dirt Ball in May
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Medicine Park Town Birthday Celebration in July
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Mayor’s Blues Ball in September
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Annual Chili Cook-off in November
Plantation Inn |
Cobblestone Cottages |
Old Plantation Restaurant |
Medicine Park is also a good place to stay for the Spirit of Survival Race, which includes a kids marathon where children can log the first 25 miles and run the last 1.2 miles at the race. Other features of this unique town include Medicine Park Trail, Gondola Lake and Dam, and Lake Drive.