`A special place'
Supporters hope to save Holy City of the Wichitas
LAWTON — Stewards of a Christian-theme “city” in the Wichita Mountains are feeling hopeful these days.
When people recently learned that the beloved Holy City of the Wichitas was in dire straits, they began sending donations to help with operating costs.
James Britt, president of the Wichita Mountains Easter Sunrise Service Association, said he was pleased to find that many Oklahomans view the Holy City as a spiritual treasure worth saving.
“For the last few years, we've been barely hanging on. We were just about underwater with less than $10 to our account,” he said. “God has blessed our efforts and we've been getting donations so it's starting to look up.”
The Holy City, built in the 1930s, includes several structures and buildings that were constructed to help portray the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The structures include the “Lord's Supper Building,” the “Temple Court,” “Pilate's Judgment Hall” and “Herod's Court.” The Holy City also includes one of the two modern restroom facilities available in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton.
The Holy City was named to the National Historic Register of Historic Places in 2019. Most people know it as home to the “Prince of Peace” Easter pageant, touted by organizers as the nation's longest-running annual Easter passion play.
Britt said the Easter Sunrise Service Association that overs ees Holy City operations recently spread the word that the beloved landmark was in danger of closing.
He said most people don't know that the Holy City isn't funded by the Wichita Wildlife Refuge or any state or federal entity. Its operating fund consists of donations and, while Britt said the Holy City receives grants from time to time, those must be spent on designated projects and not on operating expenses.
He and other board members have sought to keep the site free and open to the public as it has been since its beginnings during the Great Depression.
Britt, a member of First Baptist Church of Lawton, said the association has received enough donations to keep going for the next several months.
The association is meeting to plan various fundraisers aimed at sustaining the Holy City for the long term. Britt is also hoping that more people who wish to support the Holy City will send donations.
Yvonne Landmark, another member of the Easter Sunrise Service Association, said the organization's operating budget includes salaries for two paid staff members and expenses like lighting and programs for the annual “Prince of Peace” Easter Pageant.
Other financial needs include caring for the caretaker's residence, heating and cooling expenses for six buildings that are open for public access, building insurance, vehicle insurance, utilities, cleaning supplies and labor, routine maintenance, seasonal grounds maintenance, and
staffing for the gift shop.
Peaceful place
Landmark, a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Lawton, said people from all over the world visit the Holy City and locals have tried to take special care of it.
“It is definitely a place where you feel at peace,” she said. “The buildings tell the story of the Life of Christ all by themselves. We just do not want a donation fee to be a hamper to anyone who wants to come.”
Perhaps the “Prince of Peace” Easter Pageant has something to do with the sense of peace and tranquility that people like Britt and Landmark — and countless others — talk about.
The Rev. Anthony Mark Wallock began the pageant in 1926, persuading men to haul a piano into the Wichita Mountains so that choirs from different Lawton area churches could perform songs in celebration of Easter.
The preacher liked the outcome, but had a greater vision and asked church groups to sing and act out a portion of the Easter story the following year. Eventually, the entire story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection was dramatized, and the production became known as the Wichita Mountains Easter Pageant, drawing a crowd of 40,000 in 1934.
According to pageant history and stories passed down through generations of Oklahomans, Wallock's Passion play in the mountains came to the attention of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
When the evangelist showed Roosevelt his idea for a series of structures making up a “holy city” for the play performances, the president supported the plan, and the first buildings for what became known as the Holy City of the Wichitas were completed by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Through the efforts of numerous volunteers from different Christian denominations, the pageant continues to be performed each year on the Saturday before Palm Sunday and again on the Saturday before Easter. People watch the reenactment from a special vantage point called “Audience Hill.”
Faith Editor Carla Hinton edits The Oklahoman's Spiritual Life section, and covers faith and spirituality, and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com. Contact her at chinton@oklahoman.com. Please support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe.