Oklahoma History – The Wichita Mountains Gold Rush

While some will find this really hard to believe, Oklahoma had a gold rush back in the day.

Rumors of gold and treasure persist across the entire state. From the Northeast river country to the SWOK Wichita Mountains, Robber Cave, Aztec gold, etc... There are no shortages of tall tales about gold in the Sooner State, and there's a little truth to all of them.

Being a historical land of rivers, gold is easily found in almost every waterway here in Oklahoma. Whether or not someone will find the Aztec gold the conquistadors stashed away in Northern Oklahoma is still up in the clouds.

While Oklahoma was never known for gold, thousands passed through looking for it. You see, there are no natural native lakes in Oklahoma. Zero. But there are a ton of rivers and waterways through the plains, and those who came seeking gold in Southwest Oklahoma did so in what is now the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

Odds are, if you've ever hiked around the Parallel Forest, you've come across the ruins of our mini-gold rush. The circular rock pits everyone claims are satanic and witch altars are more likely the gold-mining tools old-timers used to process rock in their search for gold... At least that's a more logical explanation.

All the same, there was something much more valuable than gold in the Oklahoma hills.

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The real value of Oklahoma was fur.

Beavers were the currency long before America revolted in the name of liberty. Of those numerous outposts, there is only one known surviving undisturbed French trading post left within our borders, operated from 1725 to 1750.

Unfortunately, it's still not legally accessible to anyone.

It's tucked away in the middle of nowhere between Kaw Lake and a county road in North Central Oklahoma. The government had a tall fence put around the property when little treasures were found decades ago, and they tend to come down on people who trespass with the entire weight of federal law.

All the same, if you were to slip in and out, it would be cool to see what lies beyond the fence as there are zero videos available online for the Deer Creek Site location.