The Wintersmith Park Historic District, known locally as simply Wintersmith Park, is a historic district located at 18th Street and Scenic Drive in Ada, Oklahoma. The park includes a lake, a lodge, bridges, trails, courts and a public amphitheater. The area is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.The park is named for Frances Wintersmith.Location and activitiesWintersmith Park is located on the southeastern edge of Ada. It is south of 18th Street, east of Scenic Drive and west of Country Club Road. The park contains 150acre of land, Wintersmith Lake, a public swimming pool and splash park, a lodge, courts for basketball, softball, volleyball and horseshoes, a 1.5mi lighted trail, eight picnic pavilions, a playground, a zoo, and a Kiwanis amusement park as well as bridges, trails and a public amphitheater.HistoryWintersmith Park was a "New Deal" work program, created during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to improve communities and provide wages for unemployed people. Work began on the park in 1933 when the young men of camp number 824 arrived in Ada. The men were paid a monthly wage of $30.The Wintersmith project was unique among New Deal projects as it was the first time the National Park Service (NPS) would be working with the CCC on a project. The NPS usually worked only on the country’s national parks.The combined team would work for more than a year to transform 143acre on Ada’s eastern edge. They built a lake, a lodge, bridges, trails and, perhaps most remarkably, a public amphitheater.
