A good first question to ask when thinking about the Park is “Who is the Park named for?”  Dr. Joseph Thomas Martin, (pictured above is his bust at the Nature Center) was born in1882 and died in 1962).  He was an Oklahoma City physician who arrived in the state as a small boy with his family from Wisconsin to participate in the Land Run of 1889.  His Father and Mother also brought along Joseph’s younger brother J. Frank Martin who later became Oklahoma City mayor in the 1930s. After medical school Dr. Martin served on the faculty at OU Medical College for 37 years as well as on the staff and Executive Committees of St. Anthony Hospital and University Hospital. 

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In the winter of 1918, a devastating influenza pandemic had the entire globe in its grip and Oklahoma City was not immune. Thousands of people were ill as everyday life ground to halt. City leaders turned to Dr. J. T. Martin of the OU Medical College for help. As City Physician he immediately set about improving health conditions in the city and coordinated recovery efforts with organizations like the American Red Cross. It took several months for the crisis to pass, but Dr. Martin was long remembered for his strength and calmness during the pandemic.

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Dr. Martin was not only a well respected physician but he was actively engaged in the City.  He was a member of the Oklahoma City Federal Savings and Loan Association Board of Directors, an honorary life member of the Knights of Columbus and a member of Our Lady's Cathedral. Most importantly for the creation and improvement of Martin Park, he served on the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Board for 20 years and cast the vision for what is now the nature preserve bearing his name.

A plaque and bust honoring Dr. Martin are located in the Nature Center and the plaque reads:
 

In Memory of
JOSEPH THOMAS MARTIN, M.D.

1882-1962

 

During his service as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, he was active in the American Institute of Park Executives.  He organized the Oklahoma City Park Trust.  He assisted in the planning of the 1961-62 bond issues which provided for open space land which is now the Martin Park Nature Center.

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Dr. Martin was professor emeritus of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Medical School.  He was an active Civic worker and lecturer.  He served as City Physician.  He was an active layman in the Catholic Church, honorary life member of Knights of Columbus, Fourth Degree Navigator, Honorary Knight of St. Gregory from Pope Pius VII.

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Martin Park Nature Center

Dedicated May 10, 1975

The Land Run not only brought Dr. Martin to Oklahoma, it also brought a man named Joseph S. Darby to participate in the Land Run where, on April 22, 1889, he staked out his homestead on land that would later become Martin Park.  A year later Darby sold the 160 acres to John W. Offield who built a farmhouse on the land and together with his wife Eva homesteaded the acreage for many years.  The Nature Center has a plaque commemorating, that reads:
 

The Offield homestead was located in what is now the northwest corner of the Meadow Trail (where Crown Martin Apartments are located) but the homestead is no longer there.  

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The Offields later sold the property to R.D. and Texa West who, in turn, sold to Mary Guernsey and still later, James Mayall. The property became the farm of Howard A. Johnston in 1910 who purchased it for his Bluff Creek Dairy, later switching to cattle ranching. In 1962, Oklahoma City voters passed a bond issue to purchase 131 acres of the Johnston farm for $177,000 on August 22, 1962. More will be said about the history of the Park, especially its Creek Nation heritage, later in the book.

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Dr. Martin had a love for the outdoors and wanted to preserve the natural habitat of some of the land surrounding Oklahoma City.  So, with great foresight, he proposed to the City Council, in 1962, that a bond election be held to raise money for the purchase of land in Northwest Oklahoma City to be set aside as a nature preserve. 

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On February 26, 1963 The City Council passed another resolution that read as follows:

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Whereas the late Dr. J. T. Martin served his community as a physician, served his city as an official of the City’s health department and served his state as a teacher in the Oklahoma University College of Medicine, and

Whereas the said Dr. Martin was of particular service to the City of Oklahoma City in his tireless efforts to improve and enlarge the City’s park systems as a long-time member of the Board of Park Commissioners, and Whereas, the City of Oklahoma City desires to honor Dr. Martin for his community services and especially for his service upon the Board of Park Commissioners.

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Now therefore be it resolved that upon the purchase of the Johnson farm pursuant to the 1961 Bond Issue for park purposes, said farm shall be and is hereby called Dr. JT Martin Park.

- Mayor James Norick

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The Council passed the Resolution, the voters passed the bond issue, and the City purchased the property.  For many years the park was left in its natural state but in the early 1970s the parks department began molding the park we see today when the Nature Center was built. In 1974, a house and ten acre piece of land on the north side of the park was purchased from Robert Duffner. The Duffner house remained part of the Park for many years furnishing lodging for some of the Park’s employees.  With the passage of time the cost of repairs exceeded the value of the house and it was torn down.

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Pat Murphy

“This department (Parks and Recreation) is essential to creating a happy city. It is here to serve people.”    

- Pat Murphy

 

Most of the land for Martin Park Nature Center was purchased in 1962 through the efforts of Parks Director Robert Ray “Pat” Murphy.  Murphy grew up on a farm near Dover, Oklahoma and after two years of business college in Oklahoma City, he joined the Navy. Later he was hired as the project manager for the parks department.  This was in 1935 during the Great Depression and funding was scarcely available for parks and recreation. Fortunately for Oklahoma City, the parks director, Donald Gordon, and Murphy were imaginative visionaries and they found ways to continue developing and improving parks. Murphy said, “We started thinking of things we could have people do. Our primary concern then was putting people to work.” As project manager, Murphy used federal assistance like the WPA to clear and landscape parks and build structures like picnic pavilions, sidewalks, and bridges. Murphy prioritized the Lincoln Park Zoo and this era saw the construction of the bath house that now serves as a museum, the amphitheater, and Monkey Island. “We were working on what was then a new theory – have one way in and one way out, bringing people to all the exhibits.”

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In 1942 Gordon resigned and Murphy became interim director. He stayed for 34 years. At various times during his career, Murphy was director of parks, the zoo, the airports, and the lakes. No idea was too big and even up to his retirement he was thinking of fantastic ideas like creating a large park with a lake downtown and converting the east side landfill into a mountain for hang gliding, skiing and sledding.

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Dedication of Martin Park May 1975

In January 1973 the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation presented a check for $87,750 as a matching grant to purchase an adjacent ten acres plot immediately adjacent to the 131 acre parcel purchased in 1962.  The land was owned by the Robert E. Dufner family and on the land was a white, one story home on the east side of the lake.  This purchase brought the total acreage of the park to 141 acres and it was designated Dr. Martin Park Nature Center. Thirty acres of the land was designated as the Park Department’s Tree Nursery which, in 2001 was made part of the trail system and became the Meadow Trail area.

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The parking lot and nature building were constructed beginning in 1973 and the next two years were spent constructing the trail system and nature exhibits.  On May 10, 1975 , at 10:00am, the City Park and Recreation Department held a formal dedication of Martin Park.  The Master of Ceremony was Victor C. Wood, President of the Board of Park Commissioners and Monsignor A.A. Isenbart of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Downtown Oklahoma City led Invocation.  The Monsignor’s inclusion was historically appropriate since Dr. Martin’s parents had been founding members of St. Joseph’s and hosted many traveling priests in their home over the years. 

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After a welcome from then Mayor Patience Latting and comments from City Manager Howard McMahon the bronze bust of Dr. Martin was unveiled (created by sculptor Larry McMurray and now displayed in the Nature Center building) by members of the Martin family, John B. and Edward F. Martin and the Park was officially accepted. Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, R.R. “Pat” Murphy then delivered a history of the Park.

   

The Friends of Martin Park

On November 17, 1978 the Daily Oklahoman reported:  

Martin Park Nature Center, Oklahoma City’s often beleaguered wildlife sanctuary has been struggling along mainly on its own since last Spring (when Stainkamp resigned).  But it may no longer be alone.  Thursday night a group organized to lobby the Oklahoma City Council and Parks and Public events Department.  The group calls itself the Friends of Martin Park Nature Center.

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L.W. Mackey, one of the group’s organizers said Martin Park provides an opportunity for people to see a natural environment along marked trails and streams.  A key concern of the new citizens group is the lack of a director-naturalist, Mackey said.

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In 1978 the nonprofit Friends of Martin Park Nature Center was formed to protect the park’s natural state.  Friends has been a consistent support for the Park for nearly fifty years by raising money, providing volunteers, buying bird seed and encouraging staff.

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In 2002 the Oklahoman reported:

Martin Park Nature Center has been improved through the years largely with the help of volunteers, particularly youthful ones who participate in the Green Earth Gang for youths ages 9 to 14.

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Last year, about 125 boys and girls participated in the once-weekly program that offers a "fun" activity along with some time working in the park, Nril Garrison said.  "It exposes a lot of children to the out-of-doors, and we have received a lot of hours of volunteer work."

 

Back in 2012 the youth program was expanded resulting in two volunteer groups young people could join.   The Green Earth Gang for youngsters ages 9-13 and the Green Earth Rangers for those 14-18 years old.

 

In 2017, The Friends of Martin Park started the TeenFriends Teen Board as a way young nature lovers could engage and assist the Park and staff.  

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The Teen Board became a unique opportunity for high school students to connect with the community as well as their environment.  The purpose of the Teen Board was to bring a team of high school students together to aid FMPNC, Inc. in preserving and sharing the native habitat of Martin Park for current and future generations.  By engaging youth in park activities, new energy is infused in the Park while developing nature and environmental ambassadors and future leaders of our community.

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The TeenFriends Teen Board encourages personal growth and development of the skills.  Students are given the opportunity to earn volunteer service hours by attending board meetings and park events while learning about careers in natural resources, parks, recreation and leisure, wildlife, and biology.  Teen Board members will also have the unique opportunity to learn how nonprofits and societies work together and with city government.