Everything Salina is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Salina.
35 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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.…
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 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 Mayes County, and right here, you're passing through Locust Grove. This town's name comes from a Civil War battle fought right in these locust thickets back in 1862. Federal troops surprised a…
You're driving past Locust Grove, Oklahoma, in Mayes County. Right here, on July 3rd, 1862, a surprise Union attack shattered Confederate hopes in the Cherokee Nation. Union troops under Colonel William Weer overwhelmed…
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 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 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…
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 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…
The world's largest totem pole at 90 feet. Hand-built folk art in rural Oklahoma.
Commemorating the forced Cherokee removal of 1838. Multiple sites along the 5000-mile route.
You're driving through Mayes County, and right here near Chouteau is one of Oklahoma's most distinct communities: the Old Order Amish. They've been farming this land since 1910, drawing on traditions that go back to…
You're driving through Chouteau, a town born from the railroad in 1871. When the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway arrived, Chouteau became a terminus, and the first agent, Riley W. Lindsey, became the first settler.…
Stand here, and you're standing on the very edge of a new era for Oklahoma. In 1820, this spot became home to Union Mission, the first Protestant mission in what was then called Indian Territory. A year later, a school…
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…
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…
Right here, near present-day Mazie, you're passing through history's first mission and Indian school in Oklahoma. Established in 1820, Union Mission was a pioneering effort by the United Foreign Mission Society. It was…
Right here in Mayes County, you're driving past the site of Union Mission, Oklahoma's very first Protestant Christian mission, established way back in 1819. It was part of a nationwide spiritual revival, and…
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…
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 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, 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…
Right here, near Oaks, was once New Springplace, a Moravian mission established in 1842 for the Cherokee people. But the Civil War brought terror. In 1862, Confederate soldiers and federal troops attacked the mission.…