Press Release
August 7, 2018
Contact: Adam Lynn
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 918-473-5572
alynn@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/honeysprings
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center to Host Inaugural Display of Gilcrease on Wheels Mobile Museum Experience
CHECOTAH, Okla. — Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is pleased to announce a unique, hands-on educational experience for students and families alike, thanks to the generosity of the world-renowned Gilcrease Museum located in Tulsa, Okla. Gilcrease Museum, which is home to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West, chose Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center as the first recipient of its new Gilcrease on Wheels mobile museum experience. The exhibits, now on display at the Honey Springs Visitor Center through the month of August, consist of panels detailing the history of the Civil War in Indian Territory and the Battle of Honey Springs, influential American Indians and touch-and-feel replica canvas art from the 1800s. Additionally, hands-on items for children, school groups and families will be available for a tactile learning experience, such as Civil War-era sack coats, canteens, kepis, paper money and much more!
This is a great opportunity for school groups and families to learn about the Battle of Honey Springs and the Civil War in Indian Territory without the constraints of artifact cases or roped-off exhibits. The exhibits will be available only through the month of August, so please book school groups and family visits early before time runs out. For those guests who tour the exhibits at the Visitor Center, Gilcrease Museum will offer a drawing for a free book if you sign up for their email list. There also are post-visit quizzes from Gilcrease Museum that could earn visitors free passes to Gilcrease Museum just for visiting Honey Springs Visitor Center!
The Battle of Honey Springs, the largest of approximately 107 documented Civil War military engagements to occur in what is now Oklahoma, took place on July 17, 1863, just two weeks after the famous Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Approximately 9,000 Union and Confederate troops, mostly American Indians and African Americans, fought on the site in what is thought to be one of the most culturally diverse battles to take place in the entire Civil War. Approximately 200 total casualties were suffered. After a decisive Union victory, Confederates lost control of Indian Territory north of the Arkansas River. The Union victory also ensured Federal control of Fort Gibson in Indian Territory and Fort Smith in Arkansas.
For more information regarding the exhibits and Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center, please email honeysprings@okhistory.org or alynn@okhistory.org, or call 918-473-5572. Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is located east of U.S. Highway 69 between Oktaha and Rentiesville. We are open Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Visitor Center is located on a hill in close proximity to the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in Rentiesville. Take the second left after reaching the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame Museum (driving from the west). Directions to the battlefield will be provided upon arrival at the Visitor Center.
Honey Springs Battlefield and Visitor Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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