Medicine Park, Oklahoma
| Medicine Park, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
| Nickname(s): "America's First Cobblestone Community" | |
 Location of Medicine Park, Oklahoma |
|
| Coordinates: 34°44′04″N 98°28′39″W / 34.7344071°N 98.4776209°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Comanche |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.064977 sq mi (5.348265 km2) |
| • Land | 2.015280 sq mi (5.219551 km2) |
| • Water | 0.049697 sq mi (0.128714 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,270 ft (387 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 382 |
| • Density | 180/sq mi (71/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 73557 |
| Area code(s) | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-47350 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1095292 |
Medicine Park is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, situated in the Wichita Mountains near the entrance to the 60,000-acre (240 km2) Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Park has a long history as a vintage cobblestone resort town. Medicine Park is located near the city of Lawton and Fort Sill. It is an exurb, part of the Lawton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Many of the original structures are constructed of naturally formed cobblestones—these red granite cobblestones are unique to the Wichita Mountains. The population was 382 at the 2010 census.
Medicine Park was founded on July 4, 1908, by Elmer Thomas, a young lawyer who had just become a member of the Oklahoma State Senate and would end his career in 1951 as a U.S. senator.
In the spring of 1906, five years after the establishment of the Wichita Mountains National Forest, Elmer Thomas envisioned the need not only for a recreational area but for a permanent water source for the newly founded nearby city of Lawton. Over a period of a few years, he and a partner, Hal Lloyd from Altus, Oklahoma, quietly purchased approximately 900 acres (3.6 km2) of what became the cobblestone community of Medicine Park.
When the resort first opened, it consisted merely of a large surplus Army tent with a wooden floor where hot meals were served. Two dams were constructed on Medicine Creek to form Bath Lake Swimming Hole, and a limited number of campsites were constructed. Over a period of some four years, numerous improvements were added, and the area began to take on the characteristics of a bona fide resort.
About this same time, numerous such resorts were opening near the entries of other newly founded national parks and national forests across the country. With public interest growing in nature, the automobile gave unprecedented access to natural wonders. Resorts began springing up nationwide to provide food, lodging, and entertainment for a new generation of tourists.
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