Our Arklahoma Heritage: A free-flowing spring in remote LeFlore County may have served as a hiding place for outlaws
In the years after the Civil War, when U.S. marshals rode hard out of Fort Smith under Judge Isaac Parker, a man with stolen horses did not linger on the open roads. He pushed into the Ouachita Mountains, following old trails that climbed Winding Stair Mountain, and he stopped where water still ran even in dry months.
Local legend holds that Jesse James and his revolving gang of outlaws may have utilized the mountainous area as a designated rendezvous point and temporary hideout as they traveled back and forth from Missouri and Texas.
The remoteness of the area, the constant supply of water, and the known presence of James and other outlaws in the region during the late 1800s has also spurred tales of buried treasure in the hills, hollows and crevasses that adjoin the spring.
The spring itself remains a modest natural flow from the mountainside. Hikers describe it as perennial and one of the more dependable water sources on Winding Stair Mountain, though it can diminish in prolonged drought and the water must be treated before drinking.
In the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps crews built a stone enclosure around the spring to contain the flow and reduce erosion. The same crews and later Forest Service work developed the adjacent picnic area and interpretive signs that still stand today. Those signs recount the region’s history of horse theft, cattle rustling, and the efforts of marshals and Lighthorse police to bring order.
Today the site is a free public day-use area on the Talimena Scenic Drive in the Ouachita National Forest in Leflore County, Oklahoma. It lies roughly six miles west of the junction of Oklahoma Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 259, on the crest of Winding Stair Mountain.
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Visitors will find picnic tables, vault toilets, historical markers, and a short path to the stone-walled spring. The location also serves as a trailhead for the Horsethief Springs Trail and connects to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail.
The spring is a very short walk from the parking area — typically just a few dozen yards to a couple hundred feet.
VisitOR describe parking on the upper level along the Talimena Scenic Drive and then walking a short path or road downhill to the stone enclosure. It is not a long hike from the picnic/parking area itself.
The longer Horsethief Springs Trail and Ouachita Trail connections start from this same spot and go much farther.
The U.S. Forest Service notes that potable water is not available at the site. The area is open year-round for picnicking, hiking, and quiet exploration of the forest and its history.
