New Facility Planned for OK Civil War Site
Filed by Michael Cross in Feature, Local News, News.
August 22, 2011
The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development is providing the Historical Society more than $1 million to help build a visitors center at the site of the largest Civil War battle in Oklahoma.
The new 5,000 square foot facility near Checotah will be built at the site of the battle of Honey Springs, often referred to as the Gettysburg of the West.
Historical Society Executive Director Bob Blackburn says the fate of Oklahoma was set in motion after the Union forces took Fort Gibson and eventually won the war.
“I would even say more so than statehood that the civil war reconstruction treaties of ’66 defined the historical development of Oklahoma. We want to share that through this site in a very dramatic very personal way.”
The new center is expected to be completed by the sesquicentennial or 150th anniversary of the battle on July 17th, 2013.
Officials estimate the site will bring in 150,000 people and $9 million in tourism revenue every year.
events
