totem pole park

I like to get off the beaten path and find a place to stretch and maybe have a picnic when I travel and in warmer weather this would be an ideal place. When I visited on a cold and wintry January the gift shop and Fiddle House were closed and picnicking was out of the question, but I still enjoyed my visit.This nine acre park is owned and operated by the Rogers County Historical Society and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ed Galloway who created the park from 1937 to 1948 meant it as a tribute to Native Americans. The huge 90 foot totem pole billed as the world's largest, is a turtle at the bottom with his head sticking out and four nine foot American Indians near the top representing four different tribes. In addition there are 200 other items on the pole. I found it really amazing and appreciated Mr Galloway's vision and perseverance in imagining and completing such a monumental task.In additional to the large totem pole there was also the 11 sided Fiddle House/Gift Shop and several other objects done by Galloway within the park and lots of room for kids to roam and for a family to picnic.The park is located four miles east of Route 66 on OK 28A which is on the far northern edge of Foyil about 10 miles NE of Claremore. The turn off Route 66 is not well marked and easy to miss. I enjoyed the drive down OK 28A through rural Oklahoma past some farms that raised unusual animals. I enjoyed my brief visit enough that I want to return in nice weather when everything is open.

Stopped with husband on mini Route 66 excursion. Had a picnic which was nice and liked the inside of the totem pole was nice and cool. If you like odd things you'll love it. If you don't keep driving.

Family of 5 - 19, 16, 10 yo girls. We all loved taking pictures and enjoyed the art and strangeness of this attraction. They have neat tables that are painted, totem poles (of course), and a neat gift shop that was nicely priced. We purchased Route 66 memorabilia, some indian wrist jewelry, enjoyed the banjo display and reading the signage. The gentleman that oversee's the property was in a wheelchair making his way around with his dog. Very nice man and enjoyable to talk to and to pet his dog. Will come by again if we do the entire route at some point. Recommend!

Ok, now we can say that we have not only seen the world's largest boll weevil, and the world's largest frying pan, but also the WORLD'S LARGEST CONCRETE TOTEM POLE!!!!! Now I can die a happy man....This little park, which is free to go in, created by a man who obviously had waaaaayyyy too much free time on his hands, is actually well maintained and only a short, four mile drive off the old Mother Road, Route 66. And let's face it, if you're the kind of person who is traveling Route 66, then this is right up your alley....The gift shop is in a little round house also built by the same gentleman, and in it you can see an amazing collection of fiddles and inlaid wood furniture he built, in addition to the outstandingly quirky concrete totem poles of various sizes and shapes. And did I mention it's free?One warning, if you don't like porta-potties, find a bathroom before you leave the main road (66); the one at the site was reasonably clean, but it might not be when YOU get there...So grab your camera, head east from old 66 until you spot the ginormous, brightly painted statues on your right, and click away to your heart's content.And as always, happy motoring....

We took in Totem Pole park as part of our Route 66 sightseeing trips. It was interesting and neat to see. The detail and colors of the totem poles are impressive. Theres not a lot of them but if you are in the area it's worth stopping for a few minutes to check them out.

I for one did actually make a trip out here for the express purpose of seeing this sight in particular. I was working on a photography book chronicling my car show exploits, called "Chiclet's Season," and needed a kitschy not over-shot photo op. This was a dream photo session for me, fulfilling all of the criteria I was needing... Except that the car/driver I wanted to shoot never showed. Frantic in the waning sunlight of the golden hours, I wasn't sure what to do as my own personal show car was back in it's garage, over two hours away, and I needed a willing model. I found that in the shop keeper everyone keeps raving about Mary K. She was so gracious, even pulling her awesome red machine (quite surprising amount of horse power for such a diminutive little gal,) over in front of the World's largest cement Totem. So my picture, shortly off the beaten path along Rt. 66, that played so prominently in my journey to Oklahoma car shows did manifest because of Ms. M.K.. I had to feature her in her own full page spread in my book out of gratitude, and because she was a great model. I enjoyed getting to include this historic site, and am glad I learned all about it in the process. The grounds are lovely and full of many objet d' arte, including the little home showing off other hand made items such as a substantial collection of violins.

The world’s largest – concrete! – totem pole.It was after 6:00 when we arrived and the visitor centre / gift shop had closed, but the grounds were still open. We didn’t stay long, we just wandered around and took a few photos. It was just as strange as we had imagined.Glad we hadn’t gone out of our way. If you’re on Rt66 – call in.

Ok, this was cool to see but it was kind of weird because it felt like it was just in someone's yard in a residential area. We weren't far from there so we decided to stop and the kids thought it was cool. We took some pictures and that was about it. I wouldn't go out of the way to see this but if you are on Rt 66, maybe swing by. There are no bathrooms, food, etc....we didn't even see anyone at the homes near there.

Part of Rt. 66 history so we had to stop. Browsed the small park that has a little gift shop that was not open. Place to sit and picnic and even grill if you like.

This stop is a few min drive off rt 66. it is not directly off the road. Don't worry you are not lost it's just drive through a rural area to get there. Cute little stop. A very large totem pole and a few other art pieces. Picnic area available.

Stopped off to see on our trip. 4 miles off the route but worth it. Liked the small park, well kept totems. Has to be done on the Route 66 .

The totem pole park is a great site to see on your journey on Route 66 even though it is a bit out of the way. My husband and I had to check this off our list so we made the journey and we are sure glad we did. The totem poles are amazing and breath taking to see how much work the creator went into making them. The woman who works inside the gift shop is the nicest lady out there! She gave everyone a run down of the history and was so friendly. The fiddles and the photos in huge gift shop are amazing to think one man made all of those and more! I have to say my husband truly appreciated that the care taker brought him from across town one of the Route 66 bank cars that was first in the series as he was purchasing the second in the series.

The totem pole is a little outta the way so my advice pack a picnic lunch and eat on the grounds, there are picnic tables provided. They have lovingly preserved this treasure and the people at the Totem Pole are wonderful.Things were slower when Route 66 was at its peak.. this is the perfect place to sit back and reflect..

I probably wouldn't come here if you were pushed for time as there's not that much to see but it's still a good attraction. Make sure you also visit the gift shop which has a collection of fiddles. The lady in there is very nice and can give you a good run down on the history.

My wife and I visited Totem Pole Park as we decided to visit the Route 66 attractions in our area. Totem Pole Park was built by Ed Galloway between 1937 and 1961. Upon retiring in 1937, Galloway built Totem Pole Park to be friend to all that were on the road and to celebrate American Indians. Totem Pole Park has a number of sculptures that are made of rock, concrete and steel. Many of these are totem poles, but there is also the Fiddle House and two picnic tables. The main totem pole is 90 feet tall and it rests on a turtle carved from sandstone. Visitors can enter the base of the totem, but there is no way provided to go higher in the structure. The four American Indians on the top of the tallest totem pole are Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph and an unknown (to me) Comanche chief. The 12-foot arrowhead sculpture depicts the chiefs of the five civilized tribes. Be advised that the seating of the picnic areas is dirty, so if you do not want to get your clothing dirty, do not sit down.The Fiddle House contains displays of woodwork, etc. that Ed Galloway created. One item that caught my attention was an inlaid wood frame that Galloway crafted to commemorate his service overseas during the Spanish-American War. There are dozens of fiddles that are all different, with some having intricate designs. Unfortunately, many of the more intricate-designed fiddles were stolen in the past before the park was restored. An item that caught my interest was a self-built lawnmower. If you make things, are a craftsperson, or a woodworker, the Fiddle House will be of interest to you.Restrooms are available and looked to be relatively new, though I didn’t use them and cannot report on the cleanliness. There is a nature trail, but we did not hike on our visit. The park is located around 3 miles east of Route 66, on Oklahoma state highway 28A. The Tin Foyil Café is on the SE corner of the intersection, as a landmark to know where to turn. No admission fee is charged, but they do accept donations. This is a good destination if you are traveling Route 66 for the nostalgia, but I wouldn’t make a special trip. If you have a question about this review, or any other places I have visited, feel free to send me a message.