Honor Heights Park and the Union Agency, 641 Park Drive, Muskogee

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS OK-14. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Dedicated in honor of the area's World War I veterans, Honor Heights Park was modeled after the naturalistic parks created in England during the Romantic Period. Much of the park's design came from an English landscape gardener, George Palmer, who served as the park's superintendent for 32 years. The Union Agency, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, houses the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. Honor Heights Park and the Union Agency are important cultural landmarks for the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma. History: Honor Heights Park began in when the city of Muskogee purchased 40 acres from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and eventually grew into 132 acres through the acquisition and donation of land.

Included in the original 40 acres was the Union Agency building, which was built by the United States government in to house the agencies of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes. In the City of Muskogee returned the Union Agency building to the federal government for use as a veteran's hospital. A decade later, the building was returned to the city and was transformed into the Five Civilized Tribes Museum. In the park was officially named Honor Heights Park to honor World War I soldiers. The same year George Palmer hired Myron West, a landscape architect out of Chicago to plan out the Agency Hill section of the park. In Art Johnson became the park's second superintendent and served in that role until During his tenure, he integrated azaleas into the park.

Today, there are over azalea plants of 625 different varieties. The azalea gardens were named by the North American Coach Association as one of the top ten nationwide attractions and were also named the second-best azalea garden in the Southwest. The park also is home to the J.E. Conrad Rose Garden which contains over rose plants from the All American Rose Society. Other notable features of the park are the Kirchner Memorial Recreation Area which contains tennis courts, a fountain, and a circular pool, the Kiwanis Day Camp, C. Clay Harrell Arboretum, Art Johnson Memorial Dogwood Collection, Elbert L. Little, Jr. Native Tree Collection, the Honor Heights Nature Preserve, the Rainbow Memorial Amphitheater, a sunset pergola, and a five acre lake.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS OK-14. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

"Honor Heights Park and the Union Agency." Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, (accessed on HONOR HEIGHTS PARK AND UNION AGENCY HALS NO. OK-14 PAGE 2 Honor Heights Park, Parks and Recreation Department, City of Muskogee, Oklahoma. Website: (accessed March Union Agency National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS OK-14. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Steve Eilers, March 18, West Stillwater, OK steve.eilers@okstate.edu Dr. Charles Leider Professor and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Department 360 AG Hall Stillwater, OK Office: charles.leiderfalokstate.edu HONOR HEIGHTS PARK AND UNION AGENCY HALS NO. OK-14 PAGE 3 ,t &, .rih < *. ?* : *. : .." ' A.!-lffi;^l(J^^^ TO""' '' '*' " View from across the lake (City of Muskogee Parks and Recreation Department: accessed March 18, ' /-i . Ms idL'..W Vjl .A..wiiA,..d. . .' i ^ Tte.Jh.Jt^.-.,. The Union Agency (National Register Properties in Oklahoma: accessed March 21,