Rock Creek Campground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chickasaw National Recreation Area - Travertine District, National Park Service

Hohmann, Heidi; Grala, Katarzyna; Curran, Michele

Rock Creek Campground is approximately 67.15 acres of forested land that comprises the Platt Historic District’s largest campground in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Murray County, Oklahoma. It is located on the western edge of the Platt Historic District along the park’s perimeter road. The campground is bordered on the west and north by Rock Creek. Access is provided from the perimeter road. At present, the campground contains 106 campsites. About half of these (57) were constructed according to the original (1943) design layout with the exception that water and electrical hookups were not implemented. As the result these sites are mainly used for tent camping, but can accommodate small to medium size RVs. The original 57 sites were completed by 1951. The rest of the sites to the south were designed and added to the campground later (Mission 66 era), and these also do not have electricity and water for RV use. They are mainly used for tent camping and some sites are designed to accommodate medium‑sized RVs. Rock Creek Campground is significant for its location within the Platt Historic District. The Platt Historic District is significant for its association with the development of National Park landscapes completed during the depression and funded as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal” programs. The district is also significant as embodying the characteristics of the type, period, and methods of construction typical of the “rustic style” of park design developed by the National Park Service in the years between World War I and World War II (1916‑1942) under the leadership of Thomas Vint. In general terms, “rustic” park design limited development to preserve natural scenery and designed buildings and structures in keeping and in harmony with the natural landscape. This meant using hand craftsmanship, local architectural styles and natural materials such as stone, wood and native plants in the design of each park structure or element. The Platt Historic District exemplifies all of these aspects of National Park Service development, planning and design. Most of the district’s extant features were constructed between circa 1930 and 1940 during the depression years under the New Deal. Most of the park’s construction was undertaken by Company 808 of the CCC, one of the largest CCC camps in Oklahoma. The park’s architecture and landscape design also exhibit classic “rustic” style design characteristics. The buildings and landscape features constructed in the park by Company 808 of the CCC are made of local stone and wood, emphasize the horizontal lines of the landscape, and merge with their surroundings in color, scale, and appearance. Rock Creek Campground comprises one component of this larger significant district landscape. Technically, the campground was not completed during the CCC‑era, which lasted from 1933‑1940 (dates of CCC camp occupation at Platt), but rather was designed in the 1940s and constructed in 1951. However, the campground is designed in the same manner and style as the rest of the park. The campground also appears to be an early example of designing pull‑through campsites, a design change implemented to accommodate new, larger camping vehicles such as RVs. In its site planning, landscape architectural design and small‑scale features, the Rock Creek Campground explicitly reflects the NPS principles of rustic design and construction, specifically in both overall layout and design of the campground and camping sites. As a result, the Rock Creek Campground should be considered to contribute to the significance of the overall district and enable the district to convey its significance. This component landscape also exists in a predominantly intact state, and should be considered to contribute to the integrity of the overall district.

Rock Creek Campground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chickasaw National Recreation Area - Travertine District, National Park Service

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