Historical Marker Program

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Battle of Turkey Springs

Woods County
Location: on US-64, two miles east of Camp Houston
Coordinates: 36.81235, -99.07458
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Cherokee Strip Volunteer League and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Government; Military; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

The last known encounter between American Indians and the federal government in Oklahoma occurred in this area on September 13–14, 1878. Units of the 4th Cavalry battled with Northern Cheyennes led by Dull Knife and Little Wolf as they fled Indian Territory to return to the north. An Arapaho scout and three soldiers were killed.

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Centennial Wall

Woods County
Location: at southeast corner of the county courthouse in Alva (DAR)
Coordinates: 36.803911, -98.664710
Material: Other (Brick wall with bronze plaque and statuary)
Sponsor(s): Daughters of the American Revolution
Topics: Government; Land Openings; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

The 1,600 bricks in the wall list the names of past and present Woods County families and commemorate the centennial of the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in 1893.

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Cherokee Strip

Woods County
Location: at intersection of Flynn and Post Office streets in Alva (DAR)
Coordinates: 36.804733, -98.664470
Material: Stone with bronze plaque
Sponsor(s): Daughters of the American Revolution
Topics: Government; Land Openings; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

The first land office in the Cherokee Outlet was located here.

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The Cimarron Cowboy

Woods County
Location: American Legion Park in Freedom
Coordinates: 36.769423, -99.112640
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Cimarron Cowboys Association
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Land Openings; Ranching; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Commemorates the cowboys and ranchers who founded and developed the cattle industry in the Cimarron country of northwest Oklahoma.

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Cowboy Cemetery

Woods County
Location: approx. 12 miles north of Camp Houston
Coordinates: 36.96656, -99.14971
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Alva Monument
Topics: Indian Frontier and Trade; Ranching; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

On September 12, 1878, the bodies of Reuben Bristow and Fred Clark were found near here. It was believed they had been killed by Northern Cheyenne Indians led by Chief Dull Knife. Bristow and Clark were cowboys hauling salt for Comanche pool cattle when Dull Knife fled harsh conditions on the reservation near Canton. The salt haulers, probably killed for their mule team, inadvertently crossed the path of the Cheyenne during their desperate flight home to the Northern Plains.

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