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Atoka Museum and Civil War Cemetery

The museum is a unique and welcome stop on State Highway 69 and shares the history of the Civil War in Oklahoma as well as the story of Atoka County. Visitors can explore the area’s history and culture, including a complete dinosaur skeleton, 1830s Choctaw removal, a shootout between local lawmen and Clyde Barrow, and homegrown talents 1987 World Champion bull rider Lane Frost (whose life was portrayed in the movie 8 Seconds) and international entertainer Reba McEntire.

The Civil War Cemetery

The cemetery was first established by travelers on the Butterfield stage road who camped at a spring just north of the Middle Boggy River, which is now known as Muddy Boggy. During the Civil War, Confederate forces kept an outpost camp at the spring to guard the route to Boggy Depot, which lay some fifteen miles to the southwest. In the winter of 1862, Colonel C. L. Dawson’s 19th Arkansas Infantry was assigned to help build earthen works at Fort McCulloch. Enroute from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Fort McCulloch, measles swept through the regiment, and some of the men were forced to camp at Middle Boggy. Those who died were buried in the small cemetery on the north side of the Middle Boggy River. Crude sandstone markers inscribed with the soldier’s name, date of death, and the letters CSA were placed on the graves.

When the cemetery was dedicated in 1959 by Oklahoma historian Muriel Wright, it was believed that the soldiers buried in the cemetery died in a skirmish known as the Battle of Middle Boggy on February 13, 1864. Through continued research at the National Archives in 1988, site manager Gwen Walker identified several of the soldiers and discovered the measles epidemic.

This site is an affiliate of the Oklahoma Historical Society, and is managed by the Atoka Historical Society. The cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

• Atoka Museum and Civil War Cemetery