SHANNON SPRINGS PARK
CHICKASHA, OKLA. (TUC) — Today, we are going to be discussing the rich history behind Shannon Springs Park in Chickasha, or as many of you may refer to Chickasha, “Christmas Town.”
The story of Shannon Springs actually begins back in the late 1800's, long before it became the park we know today. According to the City of Chickasha, the natural springs were once used as a watering hole along the Chisholm Trail, providing water for cattle and travelers passing through the area.
Pretty neat, right? I bet a lot of you didn’t know that when you walk over the illuminated bridge during the Festival of Light, you’re walking the very same ground where generations before us once traveled along the Chisholm Trail.
It wasn’t until the early 1900's that Chickasha residents officially turned the area around the natural springs into a park. Then, between about 1936 and 1939, Shannon Springs really started to take shape. According to Living New Deal, several features were added throughout the 43-acre park through federal relief programs. Those features included native sandstone walls, drainage systems, a caretaker’s cottage, a warehouse, a large outdoor amphitheater, a Spanish Mission-style bathhouse, and the stone bridge across the lake.
And believe it or not, some of that history is still standing today. In 1935, a little over $11,000 was set aside to build the Spanish Mission-style bathhouse next to what was then the park’s swimming pool. The pool is no longer in that location, but the bathhouse managed to stick around.
By 1987, though, the building had definitely seen better days. It had been boarded up and fallen into disrepair around the time it was added to the Oklahoma Landmark Database. Thankfully, instead of being torn down or forgotten, it was eventually restored and turned into a recreation and community building.
So, if you’ve ever walked past that building without thinking much about it, now you know there’s quite a bit of history behind those walls. It’s one of the pieces of Shannon Springs’ WPA-era past that is still standing nearly a century later.
And today, Shannon Springs is probably best known for something completely different: the Festival of Light. What started as a local Christmas tradition has grown into something people from all over come to Chickasha to see each year, transforming the park into the “Christmas Town” so many of us know and love today.
What started with a small group of local residents wanting to bring a little Christmas spirit to the community has, over the last three decades, grown into a nationally recognized light display. And if you haven’t experienced the Festival of Light for yourself yet, we definitely recommend it. There’s just something special about seeing Shannon Springs completely lit up for Christmas, especially when you now know just how much history is underneath all those lights.
Pretty incredible to think about, isn’t it? A place that once provided a much-needed watering stop along the Chisholm Trail eventually became a gathering place for generations of Chickasha families.
The scenery may have changed, and the people passing through certainly have too, but more than a century later, people are still coming to Shannon Springs.
And that is exactly why places like this, and the history behind them, are worth remembering.
Sources: City of Chickasha, Historic Chickasha; Living New Deal; Chickasha Festival of Light.
