Historic site hospital visitor center was a long time coming

Nov. 5—FORT GIBSON — Grounds of the Fort Gibson Historic Site spread out behind Trait Thompson as he spoke about voices of the past.

Thompson, executive director of Oklahoma Historical Society, mentioned those voices as he spoke at the grand opening of the site's new visitor center Saturday.

The center is in a rebuilt 1870 military hospital that sits atop Garrison Hill. The grand opening was held on a covered deck, offering a view of the fort and the Grand River.

"The culmination of this project represents many years in the making," Thompson said. "We are in the middle of the 200th year of the founding of this fort. In April 1824, Col. Matthew Arbuckle and the seventh infantry stepped off their keelboats just south of here on the Grand River and established this fort."

The talked about how Fort Gibson was used to keep peace among the Indian tribes, how it served both sides during the Civil War, how it was headquarters for the Dawes Commission.

'Where you're standing here today is a lot of history," he said. "We are surrounded by voices of the past, where this was ground zero for much of the early history."

Thompson said the building was the fort's third hospital, operating until the fort was decommissioned in 1890.

"This would have been a place for as modern as medical technology could get at that period," he said.

The two-story building was a private residence for 70 years before Oklahoma Historical Society bought it in 1980. Reconstruction work began in the early 2000s.

Eric Trapp of Tahlequah, who worked on the hospital's rebuilding, said "it was a long time coming."

"All the material that was used in the building we harvested from Oklahoma," Trapp said. "All the siding we manufactured it here. Everything we replaced, we did with what was originally here. Everything is as period correct as we could get."

It took a lot of research, he said.

"It was a military site, so we had records of whenever they built this," he said. "We can go back and look at what they used, duplicate what hey did originally."

Trapp said the work was done in phases, "so, it's taken a while."

Incoming District 9 State Sen. Avery Frix, who spoke at the opening, said the rebuilding takes a lot of partnerships.

"That's what I love about the Oklahoma Historical Society, they're willing to bring partners to the table, sometimes working with the tribes, sometimes working with local leaders, working with state legislature to make these things happen," Frix said.

After the ribbon was cut, a crowd went inside to look at displays of 1800s medical equipment. Period-style cookies including molasses, apple cider cookies and shortbreads were served in the gift shop.