Historical Marker Program

Birthplace of Jim Thorpe

Lincoln County
Location: less than one block north of the intersection of US-62 and US-377 in Prague
Coordinates: 35.487290, -96.685699
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Prague Historical Society and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: American Indians; Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Recreational/Service; Social/Cultural

James Francis Thorpe (Sac and Fox) was born southeast of present-day Prague as Wa-tho-huck, or “Bright Path.” He dominated the 1912 Olympics, winning both the decathlon and pentathlon events. He played Major League Baseball and professional football. He was the first president of the National Football League and is a member of Professional Football Hall of Fame. The Associated Press voted him the world’s greatest male athlete of the first half of the twentieth century.

Indian Spring

Lincoln County
Location: south of the intersection of 15th Street and Iowa Avenue in Chandler
Coordinates: 35.693248, -96.875562
Material: Other
Sponsor(s): Indian Spring Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution
Topics: American Indians; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Water; Westward Expansion, 1803–1861

The site of the first water supply for Chandler was used originally by Plains Indians as a water stop campground. A metal teepee covers the spring.

Iowa Chapel Cemetery

Lincoln County
Location: two miles north of OK-105 on S3300 Rd
Coordinates: 35.898079, -97.123963
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Iowa Chapel Cemetery Association and the Oklahoma Historical Society
Topics: Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Iowa Chapel Cemetery was established around 1891. A church was across the road to the north of the cemetery. College Corner School was one and one-half miles south of the church and cemetery. The cemetery is maintained by the Iowa Chapel Cemetery Association.

Sac and Fox Agency

Lincoln County
Location: at intersection of OK-66 and North 2nd Avenue in Stroud
Coordinates: 35.748895, -96.654950
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Government; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

For nearly four decades, the Sac and Fox Agency was an important center of influence among the tribes forcibly removed to central Indian Territory. Established in 1870, the site was home to Bureau of Indian Affairs offices and a boarding school for the Potawatomi, Shawnee, Kickapoo, Sac and Fox, and Iowa tribes.

Note: This marker no longer exists.

William Matthew Tilghman

Lincoln County
Location: in Oak Park Cemetery in Chandler
Coordinates: 35.700178, -96.903709
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Unknown
Topics: Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Government; Law and Order; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, William (Bill) Tilghman was appointed Deputy US marshal in 1891. He staked a claim near Chandler during the Sac and Fox Land Opening. He served as sheriff of Lincoln County, police chief of Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma state senator. He was killed in Cromwell on November 1, 1924. Tilghman’s gravesite is nearby.