Everything Vinita is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Vinita.
86% of buildings undermined by abandoned mines. The ground could collapse without warning.
The greatest switch-hitter in baseball grew up in Commerce playing on the same fields as miners kids.
Commemorating the forced Cherokee removal of 1838. Multiple sites along the 5000-mile route.
The world's largest totem pole at 90 feet. Hand-built folk art in rural Oklahoma.
62 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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…
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 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.…
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 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…
You're driving through Craig County, past the town of Bluejacket. This quiet community was once hit by two devastating tornadoes, back in 1938 and 1939. The first, on May 4, 1938, came from an unusual direction, killing…
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…
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…
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 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…
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 Fairland, a town that owes its existence to the railroad. It was laid out along the tracks of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, drawing people and businesses from the nearby, soon-to-be…
Commemorating the forced Cherokee removal of 1838. Multiple sites along the 5000-mile route.
The world's largest totem pole at 90 feet. Hand-built folk art in rural Oklahoma.
Right here, near the Oklahoma-Missouri border, is the Honey Creek settlement. This is where Cherokee author John Rollin Ridge came after his family was forced from Georgia by the controversial New Echota treaty. Tragedy…
You're driving near Grove, Oklahoma, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1863</say-as>, the Cherokee National Council met at Cowskin Prairie. They were a government without a country. Torn by the…
You're driving past Grove, Oklahoma, a town that was once the county seat, but lost that title in a rather dramatic fashion. Grove got its start in 1888 when a post office was approved for a settlement near a spring, in…
You're driving through northern Craig County, passing Welch. This town got its start around 1888, thanks to D. B. Nigh leasing land from Frank Craig. The Katy Railway was already in the area, and by 1891, they built a…
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 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 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…
Prepare to be transported back to the roaring twenties! This opulent theater on Route 66 hosted Vaudeville acts and movies during the golden age of entertainment. George Coleman, a local mining magnate, commissioned the…
You're driving past the site of Picher, once Oklahoma's most northeastern city, and a boomtown born overnight in 1913. Right here, the lead and zinc mines produced over $20 billion in ore, supplying more than half the…
Right here, in northeastern Oklahoma, you're driving through the heart of what was once the world's biggest zinc-producing region. In towns like Picher, Commerce, and Quapaw, the Tri-State Lead and Zinc District boomed…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, you're passing through the historic Tri-State Lead and Zinc District. While lead and zinc mining was happening in Missouri and Kansas for decades, Oklahoma's…
Right here in northeastern Oklahoma, you're passing through the territory of Wilbur Underhill, the "Tri-State Terror." Born in Missouri, Underhill found his criminal calling in the lead and zinc mines around Picher in…
You're driving through Ottawa County, near West Seneca, the headquarters of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Back in 1832, this land was granted to the United Nation of Senecas and Shawnees. Imagine, a…
You're driving through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, but the story of the Cahokia people starts way back in the 1600s near the Mississippi River in Illinois. They were an Algonquian-speaking tribe, living near a French…
You're driving through Ottawa and Delaware counties in Oklahoma, but this land has a history stretching back centuries and across the continent. Right here, you're on land once allotted to descendants of the Conestoga…
You're driving through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, passing through land once home to the Kaskaskia tribe. Though no longer a distinct tribe, their story is woven into the fabric of Oklahoma history. In 1673, Father Jacques…
You're driving through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, and you might not realize it, but you're passing through a place with a connection to the historic Mohawk Nation. While most Mohawk people live in Canada or New York, some…
You're driving through Oklahoma, but did you know this land was once home to the Piankashaw? They were a subtribe of the Miami, and their name possibly meant 'those who separated and formed a tribe.' Europeans first…
You're driving through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, a place that holds a quiet connection to a once-thriving American Indian tribe: the Tamaroa. These Algonquian speakers, related to the Illinois tribes, once numbered…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here in Ottawa County, you're passing through a place that was once the lead and zinc capital of the world! Mining kicked off near Peoria in 1891, and soon towns…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here in Miami, you're passing through the home turf of a rodeo legend. Tom Ferguson wasn't just good; he was the best. From 1974 to 1979, he dominated professional…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here, in Ottawa County, you're passing through the heart of the Tri-State Mining District. For decades, this area was a powerhouse, especially for lead and zinc.…
You're driving through Ottawa County, not far from Miami. Right here, in the heart of Oklahoma, is the story of the Modoc people, originally from the Pacific Northwest. After a fierce conflict known as the Modoc War in…
Right here in Miami, you're driving through a town that wasn't just settled, it was *planned*. Back in 1891, visionary leaders like W. C. Lykins and Miami Tribe Chief Thomas F. Richardville worked with Congress to…
Right here in Miami, Oklahoma, you're passing through the birthplace of Moscelyne Larkin, a world-renowned ballerina. Born in 1925, she trained right here before heading to New York and then touring the globe with the…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, maybe near the Kansas border, and you're passing through the heart of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation's ancestral lands. These Iroquoian people, originally from Ohio, arrived here…
You're driving through Miami, Oklahoma, the hometown of artist Charles Banks Wilson. Born in Arkansas in 1918, Wilson grew up here and made Miami his permanent studio. He became head of the art department at…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, right in the heart of Ottawa County. You're passing through Miami, a place that's home to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. These weren't always Oklahomans, though. Originally…
You're driving through Miami, Oklahoma, right where the ground beneath you once fueled an entire industry. Back in 1919, this area was booming with lead and zinc mining, so important that the state created the Miami…
You're driving through Ottawa County, and right here is the land of the Ottawa people, whose name means 'to trade.' They originally came from Michigan, moving to Kansas in 1833. By 1867, many sought a new home in Indian…
You're driving through Ottawa County, not far from the Kansas border. Right here, in the late 1860s, the Peoria tribe, along with the Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, and Wea peoples, consolidated their lands after moving from…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, and right here is the home of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. They're descendants of the Illinois tribes, who originally lived much further north. In 1867, these…
You're driving through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, and right here, the land holds a story that stretches back to the 1600s. Meet the Moingwena, a small tribe of the Illinois, who were found by Father Jacques Marquette in…
You're driving through northeastern Oklahoma, near Miami. You're passing through the land of the Shawnee Tribe, formerly known as the Loyal Shawnee or Cherokee Shawnee. These ancestors were the last Shawnee group to…