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Mazeppa Turner's Story |
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| Mazeppa Thomas Turner was of
Scottish descent, born in Greenville County, Virginia on May 8, 1840 and
died in Murray County, OK on August 29, 1920. In 1845, his parents
moved to DeSoto County, Mississippi where he was raised and
educated. "Zep" as he was known to his friends was married
to Laura J. Johnson, a Chickasaw woman in Shelby County, Tennessee in
January 3, 1860.
Zep served in the War Between the States in General Bedford Forrest unit. He was wounded twice and fought in the battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga. In 1870, the Turners moved to Stringtown, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory and began farming. Wanting to raise cattle, Mazeppa moved to Tishomingo County (later Murray County) in 1878. Laura's Indian allotment included the area around the current cemetery at Dougherty. When their house was began to be built, ancient Indian graves were uncovered and the Turners applied to have the allotment of Laura's moved to another location. They moved to the area of the current Turner Falls Park. They next moved to Strawberry Flats located at the juncture of the Washita River and Rock Creek. In 1900 they moved again to Davis. The children of Zep and Laura were: Lizzie B. (1865-1901) In 1890, Laura died and Mazeppa married his second wife in 1891, Alice Akins. The children of this union was: Angie - 1893 Three hundred seventy acres for the park was acquired from the Turner family on October 21, 1925 for the sum of $17,000, by the City of Davis. This area included the "Gem of the Arbuckles", Turner Falls. Turner was an educated man, a thinker and an articulate speaker. He was elected to and gave the first speech in the first House of Representatives of the new State of Oklahoma from Murray County.
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