Everything Panama is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Panama.
One of the most important pre-Columbian archaeological sites in North America, Spiro was a major political and religious center of the Mississippian culture from 800 to 1450 AD.
An 12-foot stone slab with alleged Viking runes in the Oklahoma mountains. Nobody can explain it.
At 1999 feet it is officially one foot short of a mountain -- making it the world tallest hill.
The KCS railroad built a roundhouse here and turned Heavener into a lumber boomtown.
54 miles of ridgeline road across the Ouachitas. Dedicated by Lucy Baines Johnson in 1970.
Every October the town throws a Viking festival for a stone that might be a hoax.
Coal seams in the Ouachita foothills fueled the railroad and built the town.
Home of a Choctaw Lighthorse captain who kept order in Indian Territory.
Ward and his Choctaw wife Tabitha founded the settlement in 1880.
48 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
You're driving through Panama, Oklahoma, a town that started as 'Red Town' because of its mining shacks. The real boom kicked off in 1896 when the railroad arrived. By 1903, the town had moved to the junction of two…
You're driving past Shady Point, a town that boomed and busted with the coal industry. Originally named Harrison, the post office became Shady Point in 1894, right along the railroad. This place thrived as a shipping…
You're driving through southeastern Oklahoma, maybe near Spiro, and you're hearing a song that's become a worldwide anthem: "I'll Fly Away." What you might not know is that this gospel standard was penned right here, by…
Right here in Le Flore County, you're driving through a landscape shaped by ancient cultures and dramatic history. Long before Oklahoma was a state, this was a center for the Mississippian Culture. You're near the Spiro…
You're driving through Spiro, Oklahoma, a town whose very existence is thanks to a railroad. Back in the 1800s, the nearby town of Skullyville was the hub, serving as a Choctaw capital and a place where federal…
You're driving through Le Flore County, not far from Spiro. Right here, you're passing the site of Fort Coffee. Established in 1834, its mission was twofold: protect the Choctaw people and stop illegal liquor from…
One of the most important pre-Columbian archaeological sites in North America, Spiro was a major political and religious center of the Mississippian culture from 800 to 1450 AD.
Imagine stagecoaches thundering through as you stand at this former stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. Walker's Station, named for Choctaw Chief Tandy Walker, was a vital stop on this route through Indian…
You're driving through Bokoshe, a town whose story is literally carved out of the earth. This place, meaning 'little creek' in Choctaw, was built on coal. Back in 1895, miners were already working strip pits here. Then,…
You're driving through Le Flore County, past the town of Cameron. Ever wonder where this place got its name? Well, folks in the 1930s debated it! Some said it honored William Cameron, a mine inspector. Others, using…
Look to your right – can you believe there's a castle tucked away in Oklahoma? This is the James E. Reynolds House, a unique landmark built back in 1911. James E. Reynolds, who lived from 1837 to 1920, decided to build…
You're driving through Le Flore County, past the community of Fort Coffee. This place has a history stretching back to the Choctaw removal in 1832. But its name comes from a fort built in 1834, right here, to stop…
You're driving past Rock Island, Oklahoma, right near the Arkansas border. This place started as Maney Junction, a key railroad crossing in the Choctaw Nation. In 1905, the post office opened, named Rock Island, likely…
Imagine a bustling city, not of brick and steel, but of earth and ritual, right here in Oklahoma. That's what Spiro Mounds once was. Between the 900s and 1450s, the Caddoan people built this complex as a major religious…
You're driving through Cowlington, a town with a name that tells a story. Originally known as Short Mountain, it was renamed in honor of the Cowling families who settled here after the Choctaws relocated in the…
Right here, near Pocola, you're passing through a place with a Civil War past. On September 1, 1863, the Union Army won a key victory at Devil's Backbone Mountain, just a stone's throw away. After the war, this area…
Arkansas River navigation project creating a massive reservoir in the Ouachita foothills.
Hold on tight – you're about to discover Oklahoma's one and only railroad tunnel! Back in 1885 and 1886, the Fort Smith & Southern Railway carved this tunnel through Backbone Mountain. At the time, this was Choctaw…
You're driving through Wister, Oklahoma, right now. This town owes its very existence to the railroad. Back in 1886, workers were laying tracks for the Fort Smith and Southern Railway, which would soon become part of…
You're driving through eastern Oklahoma, near the Wister Valley, and right here, you're passing through the echoes of a culture that thrived over two thousand years ago. This is the Wister Phase, dating back to around…
Hackett, Arkansas, a small town tucked into the western edge of the state near the Oklahoma border, doesn't often make national headlines. Yet, its location in the fertile Arkansas River Valley, where the Ozark…
You're driving through Gans, Oklahoma, a town with roots in the Cherokee Nation. It started as 'Jack Town,' then became 'Gann' after local brothers. But in 1895, the railroad came through and asked for a name change to…
You're driving through Howe, Oklahoma, a town that knows the raw power of nature. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1961</say-as>, a devastating tornado ripped through Howe and the neighboring…
Right here, you're passing through Keota, Oklahoma, the hometown of Rayson Billey, a Choctaw soldier who inspired one of the most famous cartoon characters of World War II. Bill Mauldin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning…
You're driving through Keota, a town with a name that's a bit of a mystery. Some say it means 'fire gone out' in Choctaw. Others claim it’s a mashup of 'Keese,' from the rancher who owned this land, and 'Otter,' for the…
You're driving through Muldrow, a town named for a man who never lived here. Henry Muldrow, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, lent his name to this community when the post office opened in…
You're driving past Arkoma, right on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. This town owes its start to a Civil War veteran and Choctaw Nation intermarriage, Captain James Reynolds. He built a castle nearby and then, in 1911,…
Right here in Haskell County, in the town of McCurtain, tragedy struck in 1912. The Number Two mine, operated by the San Bois Coal Company, exploded, killing seventy-three miners. This devastating event led to the…
You're driving through Haskell County, and right here is McCurtain. This town boomed in the early 1900s, fueled by coal and the Fort Smith and Western Railroad. By 1907, it was a thriving community with banks, schools,…
At 1999 feet it is officially one foot short of a mountain -- making it the world tallest hill.
Ever wonder what happened to those who had nowhere else to go in Fort Smith's early days? Elmwood Cemetery, once the Poor Farm Cemetery, holds their stories. In 1890, Sebastian County purchased land for its first poor…
Right here in Le Flore County, you're driving past Spiro Mounds, one of the most important prehistoric American Indian sites in the country. Between 850 and 1450 AD, this was a major center for the Mississippian…
You're driving through southeastern Oklahoma, the heart of a forgotten industry: the mill town. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, places like Pine Valley, in Le Flore County, weren't just towns – they were…
You're driving through a piece of American history right now, a place called the Ouachita National Forest. Though it spans into Arkansas, a significant chunk of it is right here in eastern Oklahoma. This forest is the…
You're driving through the Winding Stair Mountains, a majestic ridge in southeastern Oklahoma that's been a landmark for thousands of years. Long before Oklahoma was a state, hunter-gatherers roamed these peaks, dating…
You're driving through Roland, Oklahoma, right now. This town didn't start with a bang, but with a railroad. In 1888, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway laid tracks through this area, then part of the Cherokee…
You're driving past Heavener Runestone State Park, and right here is one of Oklahoma's most enduring mysteries. In the 1830s, a Choctaw hunting party stumbled upon a giant sandstone slab covered in strange carvings.…
You're driving through eastern Oklahoma, and right here is a stretch of the Kansas City Southern Railway. Incorporated in 1893 as the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf, this railroad was pieced together by Arthur E.…
You're driving through Heavener, a town with a name that stuck after a few tries! It started in 1877 with Joseph Heavener farming on Choctaw land. Then, in 1880, a store was moved here, and the settlement began. Before…
An 12-foot stone slab with alleged Viking runes in the Oklahoma mountains. Nobody can explain it.
The KCS railroad built a roundhouse here and turned Heavener into a lumber boomtown.
Every October the town throws a Viking festival for a stone that might be a hoax.
Ever wondered about the untold stories beneath your feet? Here, in Fort Smith National Cemetery, silent rows of headstones whisper tales of courage and sacrifice, a profound testament to the lives that shaped this land.…
You're driving through Le Flore County, not far from where the town of Fanshawe got its start. Back in 1891, this place got its name from John R. Fanshawe, an employee of the railroad. The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf…
Home of a Choctaw Lighthorse captain who kept order in Indian Territory.
Coal seams in the Ouachita foothills fueled the railroad and built the town.
This unassuming locomotive played a vital role in fueling America's WWII effort. Built in 1942, Maumelle Ordnance Works Locomotive 1 was built by Vulcan Iron Works for the U.S. War Department. Its job was to haul…
Hop aboard a piece of Fort Smith history – this is Birney Safety Streetcar No. 224! Built in 1926, this streetcar was a vital part of the city's transportation network. It's a type of streetcar called a Birney "Safety…