Historical Marker Program

Delaware Mount

Pontotoc County
Location: approximately one-half mile south of Latta Public School on Latta Road (NS 3540), Ada vicinity
Coordinates: 34.747054, -96.705307
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Environmental/Cultural Ecology; Transportation; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

This plateau dividing the headwaters of the Muddy Boggy and Clear Boggy Creeks and the valleys of Sandy Creek and the Canadian River has been referred to as Delaware Mount. Black Beaver’s band of Delaware were permitted to settle in the area by the Choctaw National Council in 1844. The plateau became a landmark for travelers on the California Road between 1849 and 1853.

Founding of Ada, “Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation”

Pontotoc County
Location: northwest of the intersection of West Main Street and South Stockton Avenue in Ada
Coordinates: 34.774680, -96.682323
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Dr. Marvin Kroeker and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Government; Mass Communication; Retail; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Urban Development

Ada was established in 1890 on lands acquired from Chickasaw and Choctaw citizens by William Jefferson Reed, who built a log store and dwelling near present Fourth Street and Oak Avenue. A post office was established on July 10, 1891, and named for Reed’s oldest daughter, Ada. The city was incorporated in 1901 and became the county seat of Pontotoc County at statehood in 1907. Railway transportation, the establishment of present East Central University, and the procurement of a water supply from Byrd’s Mill set the stage for the town’s economic and cultural growth into “The Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation.”

Natural Mound

Pontotoc County
Location: on OK-1, 3 1/2 miles northeast of Fitzhugh
Coordinates: 34.699764, -96.734830
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: Environmental/Cultural Ecology; Transportation; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

A famous natural landmark on the California Road, the high hill was shown on a map made by Captain Randolph Marcy in 1849. A major reference point on several surveys, the site became a triangulation station for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. The landmark is known locally as Chimney Hill.

Osage Village

Pontotoc County
Location: on OK-1, 3 1/2 miles southwest of Allen
Coordinates: 34.851320, -96.462096
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Military; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

This early Osage encampment contained more than 300 inhabitants. Chief Black Dog, seven feet tall and blind in one eye, was the leader of the Osage who welcomed General Henry Leavenworth and his First Dragoons on a peace expedition to the area in 1834.