Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park
1937Folk art environment near Foyil featuring the world's largest concrete totem pole at 90 feet, hand-built by retired art teacher Ed Galloway.
18.4 mi away
Everything Big Cabin is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Big Cabin.
Folk art environment near Foyil featuring the world's largest concrete totem pole at 90 feet, hand-built by retired art teacher Ed Galloway.
51 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Right here, you're passing through Big Cabin, a town that once declared itself the 'Hay Capital of the World!' Back in the early 1900s, a local farmer claimed more hay was shipped from Big Cabin between 1883 and 1910…
You're driving through Adair, Oklahoma, a town with a wild past! Right here, back in 1892, the infamous Dalton gang pulled off a daring train robbery. They made off with thousands of dollars from an MK&T train, but…
You're driving through Mayes County, just north of Pensacola, on the old Texas Road. Right here, this spot on Cabin Creek was the site of two major Civil War battles. The first, in July of 1863, saw Union troops under…
Right here, you're driving past Pensacola, a town with roots stretching back to 1840! It started as a simple way station called Cabin Creek Crossing. During the Civil War, Union forces used it as a supply post, and the…
You're driving through Strang, a town that sprang up thanks to the railroad. Back in 1913, surveyors laid out this townsite in anticipation of the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. An official from the railroad named…
You're driving through Langley, right on the west end of the Pensacola Dam, the massive structure holding back Grand Lake. This whole project kicked off in 1935 and wrapped up in 1941, costing a whopping 22 million…
You're driving past Grand Lake Towne, a tiny community nestled on the shores of Grand Lake. What's interesting here is how it came to be. After the Pensacola Dam created this huge lake back in 1940, people started…
You're driving through Ketchum, Oklahoma, and right here is a town with a wild west streak! The First State Bank, founded in 1913, became a target for outlaws. In 1923, bandits robbed the bank and killed cashier Frank…
Right here in Chelsea, you're driving through a town that started as a railroad stop back in 1881. It was named by an official for his hometown in England. Chelsea was incorporated under the Cherokee Nation in 1889, and…
You're driving through Rogers County, Oklahoma, and right here is a place tied to a significant Cherokee leader, J. Bartley Milam. Born in Texas in 1884, Milam grew up in Chelsea, Oklahoma. He became a successful…
You're driving through Rogers County, not far from Chelsea. Back in 1887, Edward Byrd, a Cherokee citizen, organized the United States Oil and Gas Company. He'd discovered an oil spring here a few years earlier and…
Right here, near Vinita, Elias Cornelius Boudinot's actions sparked a movement that changed Oklahoma forever. In 1869, federal authorities confiscated a tobacco factory owned by Boudinot and his uncle, Stand Watie, for…
You're driving through Vinita, and right here is the site of Galloway College, later known as Willie Halsell College. Opened in 1888, it was a Methodist school that played a surprising role in the lives of two…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, perhaps near Vinita, where one of America's first major Native American writers got his start. John Milton Oskison, born in 1874, grew up here and even attended the Willie…
Get ready to see something massive! This dam didn't just create a lake; it was a game-changer for Oklahoma. Back in the 1930s, folks dreamed of controlling the Grand River for power and to prevent floods. So, they built…
You're driving through Delaware County, near the town of Vinita, where Thomas Alberter Chandler was born in 1871. He was a Cherokee man who became a prominent farmer, businessman, and oil producer. He reportedly drilled…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through land once shaped by the Halsell family. In 1872, William Halsell blazed a new trail, the Halsell Branch of the Chisholm Trail,…
Right here, west of Vinita, is where Patrick Shanahan waged his own private war against a railroad back in 1882. An Irish immigrant who'd married a Cherokee citizen, Shanahan refused to let the St. Louis and San…
You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the ghost of a railroad giant: the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, better known as the Frisco. This wasn't just any train line; by the early…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, in Vinita, was born Michael Synar. He wasn't just any politician; he was a force in Congress for sixteen years, representing Oklahoma's Second District.…
Right here in Vinita, you're driving through a town with a name that almost wasn't! It started about two miles south, but a railroad reroute changed everything. Elias Boudinot named the original site for his friend, the…
You're driving through what used to be Indian Territory, and right here, you're passing through the heart of a powerful cattlemen's alliance. In 1892, in Vinita, leaders from various Indian nations came together to form…
You're driving through Northeast Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through Vinita, the town that was home to James Sanford Davenport for much of his life. Davenport was a key figure in Oklahoma's early statehood,…
You're driving through what used to be the Cherokee Nation, and right here is where Nathaniel Skinner, a Kentucky transplant, built a life as a cattle baron. He arrived in the 1870s, married a Cherokee citizen in 1879,…
You're driving past the town of Disney, Oklahoma, named after a congressman who became known as the "watchdog of the Treasury." Wesley Ernest Disney served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, championing…
You're driving past Disney, right on the east end of Pensacola Dam. This town, and its neighbor Langley, owe their existence to the massive Grand Lake dam project that kicked off in 1935. Disney itself was founded in…
Commemorating the forced Cherokee removal of 1838. Multiple sites along the 5000-mile route.
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, not far from where one of America's greatest baseball legends was born: Mickey Mantle. Born in Spavinaw in 1931, Mantle grew up in Commerce and became known as the 'Commerce…
Right here, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, you're driving through a town with roots stretching back to 1829. Lewis Rogers, son of Captain John Rogers, set up shop here, building a mill, a distillery, and a salt works along…
The world's largest totem pole at 90 feet. Hand-built folk art in rural Oklahoma.
You're driving through Nowata County, right past New Alluwe. This place has a story that's all about boom and bust, thanks to oil. In 1905, a big oil discovery turned this quiet spot into a boomtown. Suddenly,…
Right here in Pryor, Oklahoma, you're driving past the birthplace of Admiral Joseph James Clark, the U.S. Navy's first American Indian graduate of the Naval Academy! Born in 1893, Clark went on to a distinguished…
Right here in Mayes County, you're driving through a place that holds some of Oklahoma's earliest 'firsts.' Back in 1820, Union Mission was established near present-day Chouteau. This wasn't just any mission; it was the…
You're driving through Mayes County, right past the site of a massive World War II industrial powerhouse: the Oklahoma Ordnance Works. Back in 1941, as war loomed in Europe, the U.S. government needed to ramp up…
You're driving through Mayes County, Oklahoma, and right here, back in 1820, was the site of Union Mission. It was the first organized missionary effort in the region, established by Reverend Epaphras Chapman for the…
You're driving through eastern Oklahoma right now, likely on Highway 69, and you're following the path of the legendary Texas Road. Back in the 1800s, this was the main highway connecting the northern states to Texas,…
You're driving through Rogers County, and right here in Bushyhead is where Clem Rogers McSpadden was born in 1925. Now, you might not know the name, but you've likely heard his voice. McSpadden became rodeo's unofficial…
You're driving through Mayes County, near the Grand River, and right here is the Packard Site. Back in the 1960s, archaeologists digging before the Lake Hudson reservoir was built, found something amazing. Two…
You're driving through Pryor Creek, a town that boomed thanks to World War II. Right here, during the war, the federal government built the massive Oklahoma Ordnance Works munitions plant. At its peak, this plant…
You're driving through Oklahoma, but the story of this land goes way back, long before statehood. Right here, near the Three Forks of the Arkansas River, Jean Pierre Chouteau established a permanent trading post in…
Right here, you're passing by the legacy of Oklahoma's first hydroelectric dam: the Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam. Construction kicked off in 1938 and wrapped up in 1941, creating the massive Lake O'…
You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through a landscape that was once explored by none other than the famous American author, Washington Irving. Back in 1832, Irving, known for 'Rip Van…
You're driving past Salina, right where the Grand River meets Lake Hudson. This spot has a history stretching back to 1817, when Auguste Chouteau set up a trading post here. But it really got its name from the salt…
You're driving through Mayes County, near Salina, where Auguste Pierre Chouteau once ran the most powerful trading operation in Oklahoma. This "Colonel" Chouteau, son of a famous fur trader, learned the business early.…
You're driving through Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the hometown of a national sports legend! In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1928</say-as>, Andy Payne, a Cherokee runner from near Foyil,…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here is the incredible Totem Pole Park near Foyil. This place is the lifelong work of Ed Galloway, a self-taught artist who moved to Oklahoma in 1914. After…
Right here in Oklahoma, you're driving past a testament to artistic vision that defied convention! We're talking about folk art, the creative spirit of everyday Oklahomans. Think unique paintings, handmade toys, even…
You're driving past Foyil, Oklahoma, right on historic Route 66. This town owes its start to Alfred Foyil, who became postmaster in 1890. His farmland became the townsite, and he owned the general store. By 1911, Foyil…
Folk art environment near Foyil featuring the world's largest concrete totem pole at 90 feet, hand-built by retired art teacher Ed Galloway.
You're driving past Bernice, a town that literally moved! The original Bernice, founded in 1912, was a bustling railroad and agricultural hub. But in 1940, the Pensacola Dam was completed, creating the Grand Lake O' the…
You're driving through Afton, right on historic Route 66! This town owes its start to the railroad, but its name has a poetic twist. It's said a Scottish surveyor named Anton Aires named it after his daughter, Afton.…