The ‘Sage of Medicine Park,’ part two

In the summer of 1908, Elmer Thomas and his partners opened the Medicine Park Summer Resort and Health Spa in the eastern foothills of the Wichita Mountains near Medicine Creek.

The ‘Sage of Medicine Park,’ Part 1

Like many other men lured to Oklahoma’s Twin Territories, seeking adventure and opportunity near the turn of the 20th century, future politician Elmer Thomas, of Lawton, was no different. Born on a farm in Indiana in 1876, John William Elmer Thomas was seventh in a family of 12 children.