There is no official record of discovery for Alabaster Caverns, even though they were known to have been used as hideouts by outlaws in the 19th Century. The first documented exploration of the caves occurred in 1898, shortly after Hugh Litton homesteaded the area in 1893. Several individuals leased land around them during the 1920s and 30s, and allowed limited tours of the caverns, which they called "bat caves." In 1939, an Englishman named Charles Grass bought the land. began renovating the caves, and opened them for public tours. It was Grass who gave them their current name. Grass was in failing health in 1952 when a group of five businessmen from Freedom, Oklahoma, the nearest community, and members of the Waynoka Railroad Labor League began lobbying for the U.S. state of Oklahoma to buy Grass' land. The state purchased from Grass on September 1, 1953, for $34,000, then reclassified the purchase as a state park in 1956, under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board.