LASR.net Homepage




Menu

Wagoner, Oklahoma

Wagoner, Oklahoma

Journalists touring Oklahoma in the 1800s labeled Wagoner "Queen City of the Prairies" and it's a title that still applies. Wagoner is the gateway to Fort Gibson Lake and only minutes from any point on the lake.

The community is alive with opportunities for family fun throughout the year -- youth baseball, a very active soccer league, a horse club and other activities. The annual Christmas lights festival brings the town to its fullest beauty while Summerfest celebrates the beginning of summer each June.

The city retains a look of the past - many of the downtown buildings have been restored and several residences from Indian Territory days have been preserved.

In 1872, the Katy Railroad officials were eager to seize the opportunity to gain some of the land in the new frontier and pushed their line into Indian Territory and through the Creek Nation to Gibson Station.

Soon thereafter, Henry "Bigfoot" Wagoner, a Katy railroad dispatcher from Parsons, Kansas, saw the need for building a switch a few miles north of Gibson Station for the purpose of loading cattle and logs.

His request was granted and the switchyard was built. When Roadmaster Perry telegraphed the message, "Wagoner's Switch is ready," the town had its name.

The town became the first in Indian Territory to establish a public school and a waterworks system. By 1895, the young town had numerous permanent buildings, including the Cobb Building that still stands at the heart of the city and houses the American Bank. What is now First Bank and Trust Co. had opened the state's third chartered bank on the opposite corner.

In 1896, the city was incorporated and well established as a frontier town.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Wagoner County Courthouse & Memorial Walk

The Wagoner County Courthouse was built in 1939 replacing the original courthouse that was built in 1897 which also served as the federal building. Located on the front lawn is a Veteran'

Wagoner, OK Historic Courthouses

Park of the Five Civilized Tribes

Sequoyah Bay State Park is located within an oak-hickory woodland of eastern Oklahoma on the shores of Fort Gibson Reservoir. The Park strives to honor the cultures of the Five Civilized Tribes, as well as the memory of those who traveled the many "Trails of Tears."

Wagoner, OK Ethnic Heritage

Historic Homes

This is the 1893 home of James Parkinson, who was the first president of the First National Bank of Wagoner and a very wealthy man. He also was a prominent cattleman in the Creek Nation.

National Historic Register
207 NE 2nd

The Fred A. Parkinson House was built in<

Wagoner, OK Historic Homes

Outdoor Murals

Located on the northeast corner building at Church and Main.

Painted by the Wagoner Work Crew in 1999, the mural depicts the growth of Wagoner from the time of the Texas Road cattle drives through Indian Territory.

Located on the north side of the building Wagoner, OK Arts


Historic Downtown

Wagoner was the first incorporated city in Indian Territory, as well as the first to establish a public school and a waterworks system. By 1895, the young town had numerous permanent buildings and several of these buildings still remain.

Wagoner, OK Historic Districts


Things to do near Wagoner, OK

Drumright Historical Museum

Oilfield and area history. ...

Main Street Oil Well

"Ripley's believe It Or Not" calls it the world's only oil well in the middle of Main Street. ...