Heavener Runestone Park (pronounced ) is a park located in

Le Flore County LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,384. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choct ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

near the city of

Heavener, Oklahoma Heavener is a city in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,414 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.7 percent from 3,201 at the 2000 census.

. Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends of Heavener Runestone, a non-profit organization. The Festival held at the park on two weekends a year serves as a fundraiser for operating and maintaining the park. Opened in 1970, the park has been erected around the

Heavener Runestone A number of runestones have been found in Oklahoma. All of them are of modern origin dating to the 19th century "Viking revival" or being produced by 19th-century Scandinavian settlers. The oldest find is the "Heavener Runestone," first document ...

, a rock found in 1923. The stone is located on Poteau Mountain just outside the town's limits in the scrub-forest foothills of the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

Assessment of the runestone

Media state that the inscription was probably a claim marker meaning "valley belonging to Glome," or "Glome's Valley."Wallace, Josh. "Oklahoma runestone is impressive but not from Vikings, Swedish scholar says". NewsOK. May 27, 2015.
Accessed August 6, 2016. There is no evidence of Norse presence and nothing similar has been found anywhere near Heavener or even in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Two additional sandstone slabs, each with short runic markings, were each found a mile north and south of the stone. Scandinavian presence in the nearby town of Heavener is early and the likeliest source of the carving of the stone.

Runestone Festival

The park became the site for the annual Heavener Runestone Festival Fundraiser in 2011. It actually occurs on two weekends each year. Features of the event include Celtic and folk music, swordplay, displays of variety of merchant booths, games, a hike to view the runestone, and overnight camping. Cast and Volunteers are all dressed in costume and many attendees dress up as well. The purpose of the festival, besides pure enjoyment, is fundraising to support the park.

Park facilities

Heavener Park offers , picnic tables, outdoor grills, primitive campsites with showers available, amphitheater, playground, hiking, exploring, and educational programs about the Runestone. The park also offers the top portion for private use for special events such as weddings, reunions birthdays etc for a fee.

Transfer from state to city park

The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department announced in March 2011 that it would close the Heavener Runestone State Park on August 15, 2011, due to budget cuts. However, the City of Heavener agreed to assume ownership and operation of the 55-acre park beginning July 1, 2011. The park is now managed by a group of volunteers that make a 501c3 non profit organization.

Notes

References

External links

Heavener Runestone Park
- local tourism information {{Protected areas of Oklahoma Parks in Oklahoma Protected areas of Le Flore County, Oklahoma Protected areas established in 1970 1970 establishments in Oklahoma