McLain Rogers Park

Between 1934 and 1937, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civil Works Administration, and the Works Progress Administration helped employ out-of-work citizens of Clinton, Oklahoma with the construction of McLain Rogers Park. It was intended to be the city park and was named for the mayor. The park welcomed visitors, who could enter it directly off Route 66, through an impressive Art Deco style gate with brick piers on either side of Bess Rogers Drive. McLain Rogers Park is important in the recreational and economic development of Clinton between 1934 and 1942 and for its unified design that reflects the New Deal’s influence. This design is still evident today. The 12-acre park has changed very little over the years, still featuring the kinds of recreational attractions that appealed to local residents and cross-country travelers during the 1930s and 40s. Visitors to the park will find pavilions, a bandstand, tennis courts, putt-putt golf, a baseball field, picnic tables with fire pits, playgrounds, a volleyball court, amphitheaters, and a bathhouse. Many of the buildings and structures are historic and date from the earliest days of the park. Traffic on Route 66 increased the work of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the last Depression era building constructed in the park is the 1941 Highway Patrol Building near the main entrance gate