- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Location
- East Texas
Talimena Scenic Drive in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas-Oklahoma
In response to subjects raised on another thread, here are some images to go with my comments to @diane regarding eastern Oklahoma's Le Flore County which I frequently visit. This wayside entrance to the drive is where it is crossed by U.S. 259, about halfway between Mena, Arkansas to the east and Talihina, Oklahoma to the west. These are the Winding Stair Mountains where the novel and film True Grit are set, haunt of outlaws and fugitives during the days when Oklahoma was Indian Territory and law was administered from Fort Smith, many miles away. I have always regretted that the producers of the two otherwise fine movie versions of the novel chose Colorado and New Mexico in which to film the story; as anyone can see, the mountains here are no less beautiful and imposing but have an altogether different character that more closely resembles eastern mountains.
This is the Big Cedar Overlook which opens looking southward toward a crossroads of that name on U.S. 259 in the valley below where dedication ceremonies for the then-new highway were presided over by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960's. Note the highway disappearing into the distance in the views above and below.
From atop the east-west running Winding Stair Mountains it's easy to see how renegades of various stripes could've attempted to evade their pursuers, men like U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves who enforced the law for the U. S. Court of Judge John Parker in Fort Smith. Later outlaws like Belle Starr, "The Bandit Queen" could be found in this area as well.
Additional scenes of the rugged beauty of the landscape, so different from the "popular" image of Oklahoma as a plains state located in Tornado Alley!
Peter Conser Home
Near the Talimena National Scenic Byway and Heavner, Oklahoma is the home of Peter Conser, head of a band of Choctaw police known as The Lighthorsemen who also protected the peace in Choctaw Territory. Conser was also a Representative and Senator to the Choctaw Council. Born in 1852 to a full-blood Choctaw mother Adeline and a Swiss immigrant father T. X. Colinson, he was orphaned at an early age when his mother died of smallpox.
The following brief account of Peter Cosner's life and services is taken from the website http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/peter-conser-house/
"In 1862, the Choctaws joined the Confederate side. Soon after, Union forces began to invade the Choctaw Nation. Those who were not involved in the fighting fled south to the Red River. After several days of hard travel, Peter was invited to stay at the plantation of the wealthy Choctaw, Robert M. Jones. During the years of Peter’s stay, he would learn skills that would prove invaluable throughout his life. It was also during this time that Peter changed his name from Peter Coinson to Peter Conser to shed the remains of his old life.
After the Civil War, Peter returned to Hodges and reestablished himself and prospered on an abandoned farm. He soon married and had a child with his first wife Amy Bacon, a Choctaw. At age 25 Conser aligned himself politically with the very prominent McCurtain brothers. He was soon appointed deputy sheriff of Sugarloaf County in the Choctaw Nation. He quickly established himself as a respected leader among the Choctaw."
"In 1881, Peter Conser was appointed captain of the Choctaw Lighthorse in the Moshulatubbee district. The Lighthorse were the mounted police of the Five Civilized Tribes. Early on in the 1820’s the Lighthorse had absolute control over law enforcement in Indian Territory. The Lighthorse was stripped of their judicial power in the 1870’s thus becoming a peacekeeping force in the Indian Territory."
Conser died in 1934 and his nineteenth century home and farm is an Oklahoma state historical site and museum. Below, a view of the often-spectacular sunset from near Queen Wilhelmina Lodge just across the state line in Arkansas where the elevation is known as Rich Mountain.
In response to subjects raised on another thread, here are some images to go with my comments to @diane regarding eastern Oklahoma's Le Flore County which I frequently visit. This wayside entrance to the drive is where it is crossed by U.S. 259, about halfway between Mena, Arkansas to the east and Talihina, Oklahoma to the west. These are the Winding Stair Mountains where the novel and film True Grit are set, haunt of outlaws and fugitives during the days when Oklahoma was Indian Territory and law was administered from Fort Smith, many miles away. I have always regretted that the producers of the two otherwise fine movie versions of the novel chose Colorado and New Mexico in which to film the story; as anyone can see, the mountains here are no less beautiful and imposing but have an altogether different character that more closely resembles eastern mountains.
This is the Big Cedar Overlook which opens looking southward toward a crossroads of that name on U.S. 259 in the valley below where dedication ceremonies for the then-new highway were presided over by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960's. Note the highway disappearing into the distance in the views above and below.
From atop the east-west running Winding Stair Mountains it's easy to see how renegades of various stripes could've attempted to evade their pursuers, men like U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves who enforced the law for the U. S. Court of Judge John Parker in Fort Smith. Later outlaws like Belle Starr, "The Bandit Queen" could be found in this area as well.
Additional scenes of the rugged beauty of the landscape, so different from the "popular" image of Oklahoma as a plains state located in Tornado Alley!
Peter Conser Home
Near the Talimena National Scenic Byway and Heavner, Oklahoma is the home of Peter Conser, head of a band of Choctaw police known as The Lighthorsemen who also protected the peace in Choctaw Territory. Conser was also a Representative and Senator to the Choctaw Council. Born in 1852 to a full-blood Choctaw mother Adeline and a Swiss immigrant father T. X. Colinson, he was orphaned at an early age when his mother died of smallpox.
The following brief account of Peter Cosner's life and services is taken from the website http://www.talimenascenicdrive.com/peter-conser-house/
"In 1862, the Choctaws joined the Confederate side. Soon after, Union forces began to invade the Choctaw Nation. Those who were not involved in the fighting fled south to the Red River. After several days of hard travel, Peter was invited to stay at the plantation of the wealthy Choctaw, Robert M. Jones. During the years of Peter’s stay, he would learn skills that would prove invaluable throughout his life. It was also during this time that Peter changed his name from Peter Coinson to Peter Conser to shed the remains of his old life.
After the Civil War, Peter returned to Hodges and reestablished himself and prospered on an abandoned farm. He soon married and had a child with his first wife Amy Bacon, a Choctaw. At age 25 Conser aligned himself politically with the very prominent McCurtain brothers. He was soon appointed deputy sheriff of Sugarloaf County in the Choctaw Nation. He quickly established himself as a respected leader among the Choctaw."
"In 1881, Peter Conser was appointed captain of the Choctaw Lighthorse in the Moshulatubbee district. The Lighthorse were the mounted police of the Five Civilized Tribes. Early on in the 1820’s the Lighthorse had absolute control over law enforcement in Indian Territory. The Lighthorse was stripped of their judicial power in the 1870’s thus becoming a peacekeeping force in the Indian Territory."
Conser died in 1934 and his nineteenth century home and farm is an Oklahoma state historical site and museum. Below, a view of the often-spectacular sunset from near Queen Wilhelmina Lodge just across the state line in Arkansas where the elevation is known as Rich Mountain.
Last edited: