Spring Fling

The Fort Towson Historic Site will host a “Spring Fling” on April 26 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The free event will feature a hands-on map-making activity for kids at 10 a.m., a lecture on Thomas Nuttall at 11 a.m., a picnic on the grounds at noon, and finish with a guided nature walk at 1 p.m. There is no cost for this event.

Kids will start the day with a map-making activity, beginning with a simple pencil and paper. This educational program will teach them important exploring skills that 19th-century travelers used to map their travels. They will also learn about Thomas Nuttall, a botanist who was an early explorer of what later became Fort Towson in 1819. Children will follow in his footsteps, documenting the route through the area when it was uncharted wilderness.

The nature walk will highlight some of the changes in the ecosystem since Nuttall’s time to the present, as well as some of the native plants and trees that would have existed during his time. Jona Tucker and Dr. Steven Patterson, who have extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for Nuttall’s work, will present the walk and presentation.

Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859) was a pioneering naturalist interested in botany who took many journeys and collected expeditions in the 19th century. He took a 5,000-mile journey down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and published A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory in 1821. In his travels, he captured a time period in the Indian Territory when wolves and bison roamed the land. Nuttall also captured descriptions of the early days of barbed wire and cattle. He was fascinated with prairies and the natural science he observed, particularly interested in his favorite tree, the Bois d’arc, commonly known as the Osage orange.