Hochatown, Oklahoma is a town in

McCurtain County McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, United States, the second to hold the name after the first was flooded by the damming of the

Mountain Fork River Mountain Fork, also known as the Mountain Fork of the Little River, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 3, 2011 tributary of the Little River in western Arkansas and ...

to create

Broken Bow Lake Broken Bow Lake is a reservoir in southeastern Oklahoma, located on Mountain Fork River and northeast of the town of Broken Bow in McCurtain County. It is one of the largest fresh water lakes within the state of Oklahoma, and a popular tour ...

. The city lies within the Little Dixie region of Oklahoma, an area originally settled largely by Southerners seeking a new start following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

History

First Hochatown

The land that would become Hochatown was owned by the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

tribe, with twelve families moving into the area in the 1880s. Like Broken Bow, Hochatown grew around the Choctaw Lumber and Coal Company, (later named Dierks) gaining a post office in 1894 and become a bustling town by 1900. The lumber company built a railroad spur between Hochatown and the community of Eagletown, Oklahoma to facilitate export of logs.Kelly, Mitch. "Hochatown." Undated.
Accessed January 26, 2018. At the time of its founding, Hochatown was located in Bok Tuklo County of the

Apukshunnubbee District Apukshunnubbee District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. Also called the Second District, it encompassed the southeastern one-third of the nation. The Apukshunnubbee District w ...

, one of three administrative super-regions comprising the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation ( Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. During the 1920s and 1930s, prime lumber supply dwindled and the lumber company moved to other local areas. Meanwhile, the community became noted for its

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

production. The town's heyday soon passed, however. The post office shut down in 1963 and the last family left the site in 1966. The cemetery and town church were moved to higher ground while all other buildings were destroyed. The area is now covered by 200+ feet of water.

Second Hochatown

The second incarnation of Hochatown is located approximately one mile west of

U.S. Route 259 U.S. Route 259 (US 259, US-259) is a north–south spur of U.S. Route 59 that runs for through rural areas of northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma. The highway's southern terminus is near Nacogdoches, Texas at an interchange with its ...

or 20 miles north of

Idabel, Oklahoma Idabel is a city in and county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, a tourist area known as Choctaw Country. History Idabel was estab ...

. November 8, 2022 Hochatown residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the ballot question proposing the incorporation of Hochatown with 129 votes in favor of incorporation and 18 votes against. On Monday, November 28, 2022,

Commissioners gathered to pass articles of incorporation to re-establish Hochatown as an incorporated

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. On Tuesday, January 10, 2023 the first meeting of the town trustees for newly incorporated Hochatown was held at the Chapel of the Pines Church. During the meeting, the Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Dian Jordan, PhD, as the town’s first official Mayor and accepted a donation from long-time resident Vojai Reed for one year of free office space to house the first official Town Hall.

Economy

Its economy is based on tourism, largely from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The cabin industry can attract thousands of visitors to the town during peak months. In addition to

, the area includes

Beavers Bend Resort Park Beavers Bend State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, McCurtain County. It is approximately north of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Broken Bow on SH-259A (OK), SH-259A. It was established in 1937 and contains B ...

Hochatown State Park Hochatown State Park was once an independent Oklahoma state park in far-southeastern Oklahoma, north of the city of Broken Bow. It was combined into Beavers Bend State Park in 2017. It is a popular destination for tourists from Oklahoma and Te ...

, and

Cedar Creek Golf Course at Beavers Bend Cedar Creek Golf Course at Beavers Bend (also known simply as Cedar Creek) is a public golf course on the shores of Broken Bow Lake, about nine miles north of the city of Broken Bow, Oklahoma Broken Bow is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma ...

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 242.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in McCurtain County, Oklahoma Ghost towns in Oklahoma