Travertine Nature Center


This article appeared in the May 2015 edition of the Chickasaw Times

SULPHUR, Okla. - In the heart of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area sits the first nature center constructed by the National Park Service west of the Mississippi River. Travertine Nature Center, straddling Travertine Creek, is a modern building inspired by the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Travertine Nature Center was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. It is unique to the registry. The Nature Center is less than 50 years old. The center represents the Park Service’s transition into the modern environmental movement, the federal response to land management and the rich cultural history of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

The building demonstrates the use of “contemporary American modern architecture by the National Park Service.” The architecture firm, Mackie and Kamrath, designed the nature center following the “organic” architecture principles exposed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The building was completed in 1969.

According to documents from the National Register of Historic Places, the Travertine Nature Center is, “An exemplary example of the federal response to the environmental movement of the 1960s at the local level, particularly the effort to educate the public while providing a means of back-to-nature entertainment and recreation.”

Travertine Nature Center serves as the Chickasaw National Recreation Area’s main educational facility. Located inside the building are live animal exhibits, diorama exhibits and an information desk. An auditorium able to accommodate 100 people allows ranger-led discussions and video presentations.

The rich and unique history of the park is also described at the Travertine Nature Center.

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area, known as Platt National Park until 1976, was occupied by members of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The corps was created to put men and women to work who would otherwise be unemployed.

Within the Platt National Park National Historic Landmark District, the Civilian Conservation Corps was instrumental in many of the improvements and infrastructure park visitors enjoy today. The National Park Service designed and implemented a large number of landscape improvements that included building creek dams and spring pavilions, enlarging swimming areas, adding roads and trails, creating camp grounds, picnic areas and planting thousands of trees.

Few features of the Travertine Nature Center have changed since its construction. Exhibits at the center highlight the ecosystems found in southern Oklahoma and the significant water resources of the springs, creeks and lakes of the Chickasaw National Recreational Area.

Ranger-led programs are presented daily at the Travertine Nature Center over the course of the year. These programs include hikes to Antelope and Buffalo Springs, night hiking and a variety of discussions associated with the wildlife and history of the park.

From Chickasaw Reservation to National Park

Chickasaw families first settled the area that would later become Chickasaw National Recreation Area after they were removed from their homelands east of the Mississippi River. By 1880, non-Indians moved into the area and began developing the land around the many springs as a resort. Hotels and bathhouses dotted the landscape and were able to accommodate thousands of visitors.

The healing waters of the area were considered sacred by the Chickasaw and Choctaw people, they feared losing them forever to private ownership.

As a result, in 1902, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations ceded 640 acres to the U.S. government for the purpose of creating Sulphur Springs Reservation, later designated Platt National Park and managed by the National Park Service. At the tribes’ insistence, a promise was added to the agreement that the area could be used "by all men for perpetuity."

Platt National Park and the nearby Arbuckle Recreation Area were combined in 1976 and renamed the Chickasaw National Recreation Area to constitute a fitting memorialization the Chickasaws efforts to protect the springs.

Special thanks to Ron Parker and Ken Ruhnke of the National Park Service.