Kiowa County brings together historic places and collections with landscapes, lakes and outdoor activities. In Hobart, a historic district and several cultural attractions tell different stories about the region. At the state parks, activities include cycling, hiking, climbing and fishing. You can plan your trip around the things that interest you most.
Hobart: Architecture, Museums and Theater
The Downtown Hobart Historic District was important as Kiowa County’s commercial center. Its buildings showcase examples of commercial architecture from around the turn of the century and the period that followed; the district also includes historic buildings from the early 20th century. It includes the Kiowa County Courthouse, considered Oklahoma’s oldest continuously operating courthouse.
The Kiowa County Historical Museum is housed in a historic Rock Island railroad depot. Its exhibits include a room with Native American artifacts, covered wagons and carriages, a Union Pacific dining car, a schoolhouse and quilts. The General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute & Museum offers a different focus: its 9,500-square-foot exhibition gallery displays items from General Franks’ personal collection, along with a rotating exhibition on military topics. Private tours are available on request. Check availability in advance.
The Shortgrass Playhouse in Hobart also combines culture with local architectural history. Its building dates to 1912 and formerly served as a city hall, funeral home and fire station. The theater stages three community theater productions each year; it’s worth checking current performance dates when planning your visit.
Historic Traces Across the Region
The Gold Belle Mine is located in Great Plains State Park. It was one of several gold mines in the Wichita Mountains and was abandoned by 1914. Another park story belongs to Quartz Mountain State Park: members of Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2810 built it between 1937 and 1939. The historic markers “Custer’s Rendezvous” and “Chief Bugler’s Grave” are also located there.
Near Mountain Park, the site of Camp Radziminski was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. A historic marker for the camp stands on US-183, two miles north of Mountain Park. Other school stories range from the one-room pioneer Fairview School House, built in Roosevelt in 1903, to Rainy Mountain Boarding School south of Gotebo: it opened on September 5, 1893, and closed in June 1920.
The region’s earlier landscape and history are also tangible. At the Cooperton Mammoth site, a Columbian mammoth skeleton was discovered near a tributary of the North Fork of the Red River. The Western Trail, a cattle-driving route between Texas and Kansas, ran through Kiowa County. At Cutthroat Gap in the county, an Osage war party killed an estimated 150 Kiowa in the spring of 1833.
Lakes, State Parks and Outdoor Activities
The Mountain Park WMA covers 5,000 acres in Kiowa County. The area consists of grassland, farmland, mesquite scrub and wetlands. Great Plains State Park sits on the east shore of Tom Steed Lake, in the shadow of the Wichita Mountains. The lake has 31 miles of shoreline in the county; fish found there include catfish, crappie and bass.
Great Plains State Park has miles of mountain biking trails and hiking trails across more than 400 acres of parkland. Granite boulder fields offer opportunities for climbing. Quartz Mountain State Park extends along Lake Altus-Lugert. Its Baldy Point climbing area rises 300 feet above the prairie; the park also has its own 18-hole disc golf course. At North Shore, a seasonal ATV area of approximately 400 acres, featuring a two-mile trail, is available from April through October. Check the conditions for this activity before your visit.
Another option in Hobart is Hunter Park, with a small lake and opportunities for fishing, playing, picnicking and walking on a trail. Choose your vacation rental based on the itinerary you’re planning.
Events and Entertainment
The SBC Great Plains Amphitheater hosts poetry readings, ceremonies and select performances. The Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain is an annual series of four-day weekend workshops for educators and artists of all experience levels. Programs and dates may change, so check the latest information before your trip. In Hobart, Elk Creek Kiowa Casino offers another form of entertainment, with more than 250 slot machines and several table games.
Discover more destinations: Lone Wolf, Le Flore, Kingfisher, Noble County, Seminole County, Atoka County, Logan County, Caddo County.
For the main travel overview: Oklahoma.
