Under Turner Falls
Swimmers sit under Turner Falls in Murray County near Davis, Oklahoma.
Mazeppa Thomas Turner discovered this waterfall near where he and his wife settled along Honey Creek in the Arbuckle Mountains in Oklahoma in 1868. The waterfall bears his name though it was known and probably used for swimming by the native people of the area long before Turner found it. Born in Virginia to Scottish parents, Turner migrated to Oklahoma where he married Laura Johnson, a Chickasaw. Together they built a successful farm and raised a family on the banks of Honey Creek in Murray County. Must have been nice to have a beautiful swimming hole and 77 foot high falls nearby. In 1919, the city of Davis created a park around the falls which makes it the oldest public park in Oklahoma. In 1925, the city bought 325 acres from the Turners to add to the Park. With the additional acreage the park grew to 1500 acres. The city operated the park until 1950, leased it out from 1950 to 1978, but since then has operated it as a public recreation area.
The park gives good insights in to the geology of the Arbuckle Mountains. There are 3 natural caves in the park plus outcrops of limestone, sandstone, conglomerate, shale and granite. Calcium carbonate, called tufa, forms the distinctive cone the falls cascades over. Tufa is a variety of travertine formed by carbonate minerals that precipitate out of usually ambient temperature water. Though considered by some as a type of travertine, some geologists, however, separate tufa and travertine because the later forms in hot, geothermally heated water and is generally less porous.
References:
Joe Sanchez, “Turner Falls,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TU019.
www.turnerfallspark.com/history/
Under Turner Falls
Swimmers sit under Turner Falls in Murray County near Davis, Oklahoma.
Mazeppa Thomas Turner discovered this waterfall near where he and his wife settled along Honey Creek in the Arbuckle Mountains in Oklahoma in 1868. The waterfall bears his name though it was known and probably used for swimming by the native people of the area long before Turner found it. Born in Virginia to Scottish parents, Turner migrated to Oklahoma where he married Laura Johnson, a Chickasaw. Together they built a successful farm and raised a family on the banks of Honey Creek in Murray County. Must have been nice to have a beautiful swimming hole and 77 foot high falls nearby. In 1919, the city of Davis created a park around the falls which makes it the oldest public park in Oklahoma. In 1925, the city bought 325 acres from the Turners to add to the Park. With the additional acreage the park grew to 1500 acres. The city operated the park until 1950, leased it out from 1950 to 1978, but since then has operated it as a public recreation area.
The park gives good insights in to the geology of the Arbuckle Mountains. There are 3 natural caves in the park plus outcrops of limestone, sandstone, conglomerate, shale and granite. Calcium carbonate, called tufa, forms the distinctive cone the falls cascades over. Tufa is a variety of travertine formed by carbonate minerals that precipitate out of usually ambient temperature water. Though considered by some as a type of travertine, some geologists, however, separate tufa and travertine because the later forms in hot, geothermally heated water and is generally less porous.
References:
Joe Sanchez, “Turner Falls,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TU019.
www.turnerfallspark.com/history/