McAlester is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Pittsburg County,
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 ...
.
The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census,
[Shuller, Thurman]
"McAlester" profile
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''; accessed February 12, 2017. making it the largest city in 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 ...
, followed by
Durant. The town gets its name from
James Jackson McAlester
James Jackson McAlester (October 1, 1842 – September 21, 1920) was an American Confederate Army soldier and merchant. McAlester was the founder of McAlester, Oklahoma as well as a primary developer of the coal mining industry in eastern Oklaho ...
, an early white settler and businessman who later became lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. Known as "J. J.", McAlester married Rebecca Burney, the daughter of a full-blood
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...
family, which made him a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.
McAlester is the home of the
Oklahoma State Penitentiary
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male off ...
, the former site of an "inside the walls" prison rodeo that ESPN's ''
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'' once broadcast.
McAlester is home to many of the employees of the
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP) is a weapons manufacturing facility for the United States Department of Defense in McAlester, Oklahoma, US. The facility is part of the US Army Joint Munitions Command. Its mission is to produce and renovate ...
. This facility makes essentially all the bombs used by the United States military. In 1998 McAlester became the home of the
Defense Ammunition Center
The Defense Ammunition Center (DAC) is the United States Department of Defense’s focal point for ammunition knowledge and logistical support. It is responsible for explosives safety, logistics engineering, transportability, training, depot/garri ...
(DAC), which moved from
Savanna, Illinois
Savanna is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,783 at the 2020 census, down from 2,945 at the 2010 census. Savanna is located along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Plum River. Going from north to so ...
, to McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
History
The crossing of the east–west
California Road According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, there were two trails that may have been known as the California Road at the time of the California Gold Rush. A southerly route, which ran through present-day Oklahoma (then known onl ...
with the north–south
Texas Road
The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, Sedalia Trail, or Kansas Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory (later Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri). Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushin ...
formed a natural point of settlement. At the time of its founding, the site was located in
Tobucksy County, a part of the
Moshulatubbee District
Moshulatubbee District was one of three administrative super-regions comprising the former Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. Also called the First District, it encompassed the northern one-third of the nation. In some historic records it is ...
of 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 ...
. Alyssia Young, who emigrated from Mississippi to the Indian Territory, first established a settlement at the intersection of the two roads in 1838. The town was named Perryville after James Perry, member of a Choctaw family, who established a trading post.
[ ''Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State''.](_blank)
Federal Writers Project, pg. 340 (1941); retrieved September 21, 2014. At one time Perryville was the capital of the Choctaw Nation and County Seat of
Tobucksy County. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, the Choctaw allied with the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
(CSA) as the war reached
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
.
A depot providing supplies to Confederate Forces in Indian Territory was set up at Perryville. On August 26, 1863, a force of 4,500 Union soldiers crossed the Canadian River and destroyed the Confederate munitions depot at Perryville. This became known as the
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...
, Indian Territory. Union Major General
James G. Blunt, finding the Confederate supplies and realizing that Perryville was a major supply depot for Confederate forces, ordered the town burned. The town was rebuilt but never reached its prewar glory or population.
After the end of the Civil War in 1865, Captain J. J. McAlester obtained a job with the trading company of Reynolds and Hannaford. McAlester convinced the firm to locate a general store at Tupelo in the Choctaw Nation. He had learned of coal deposits in Indian Territory during the war while serving as a captain with the
22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Confederate). At
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
, before going to work with Reynolds and Hannaford, McAlester had received maps of the coal deposits from engineer Oliver Weldon, who served with McAlester during the war.
["History of McAlester." City of McAlester.](_blank)
Accessed February 13, 2017.
Weldon had worked for the U.S. surveying Indian Territory before the war and knew of the coal deposits. Hearing of the railroad plans to extend through Indian Territory and knowing that rich deposits of coal were in an area north of the town of Perryville, McAlester convinced Reynolds and Hannaford that Bucklucksy would be a more suitable and profitable site for the trading post. He constructed a trading post/general store there in late 1869 . The Bucklucksy general store was an immediate success, but McAlester recognized an even greater opportunity in the abundance of coal deposits in the area, so he began obtaining rights to the deposits from the Choctaws, anticipating the impending construction of a rail line through Indian Territory.
As the first railroad to extend its line to the northern border of Indian Territory, the
Union Pacific Railway
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
Southern Branch earned
right of way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
and a liberal bonus of land to extend the line to
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 ...
. Several New York businessmen, including
Levi P. Morton
Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of Ne ...
,
Levi Parsons,
August Belmont
August Belmont Sr. (born August Schönberg; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, politician and party chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and also a horse-breeder and racehorse owner. He was ...
,
J. Pierpont Morgan, George Denison and
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
, were interested in extending rail through Indian Territory, and the
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, familiarly called the Katy Railroad, began its corporate existence in 1865 toward that end. Morton and Parsons selected a site near the Kansas Indian Territory border where they incorporated the settlement of
Parsons, Kansas
Parsons is a city in Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,600. It is the most populous city of Labette County, and the second-most populous city in the southeastern region of Kansas. ...
in 1871.
That same year, J. J. McAlester, after buying out Reynolds's share of the trading post, journeyed with a sample of coal to the railroad town in hopes of persuading officials to locate the line near his store at Bucklucksy. The trading post's location on the Texas Road weighed in its favor, given that the Katy line construction roughly followed the
Shawnee Trail – Texas Road route south to the
Red River. The line reached Bucklucksy in 1872, and Katy Railroad officials named the
railway stop
A railway stop is a spot along a railway line, usually between stations or at a seldom-used station, where passengers can board and exit the train.
While a junction or interlocking usually divides two or more lines or routes, and thus has rem ...
McAlester .
With the coming of the railroad, businesses in nearby Perryville began relocating to be near the McAlester Rail Depot, marking the end of Perryville and the beginning of McAlester. On August 22, 1872, J. J. McAlester married Rebecca Burney (1841–1919). She was a member of the Chickasaw Nation, which made it possible for McAlester to gain citizenship and the right to own property (including mineral rights to the coal deposits in both the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations). McAlester quickly obtained land near the intersection of the north–south and east–west rail lines, where he opened a second general store and continued selling coal to the railroads.
In 1885, Fritz Sittle (Sittel), a Choctaw citizen by marriage and one of the first settlers in the area, urged visiting newspaperman Edwin D. Chadick to pursue the possibility of an east–west rail line to run through the coal mining district at
Krebs that would connect with the north–south line at McAlester. Chadick eventually found financing and established th
Choctaw Coal and Railwayin 1888, but was unable to come to terms with J. J. McAlester over the issue of
right of way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
.
In the 1870s, miners from Pennsylvania arrived in McAlester to work in the coal mines.
[Stanley Clark, ] Miners of Italian origin arrived in McAlester in 1874.
Chadick and his investors purchased land to the south of McAlester's General Store, and a natural trading crossroads formed where the two rail lines crossed, quickly becoming a bustling community called South McAlester. South McAlester grew much more rapidly than North McAlester. The 1900 census showed a population of 3,470 for the former and 642 for the latter.
The two towns operated as somewhat separate communities until 1907, when the United States Congress passed an act joining them as a single municipality, the action being required since the towns were under federal jurisdiction in Indian Territory. McAlester and South McAlester were combined under the single name McAlester, with South McAlester officeholders as officials of the single town. Designation as a single community by the United States Post Office came on July 1, 1907, nearly five months before Oklahoma statehood, which caused a redrawing of county lines and designations such that the majority of Tobucksy County fell within the new lines of
Pittsburg County. The city had 8,144 inhabitants upon statehood, more than a fourth of whom were foreign-born.
McAlester was on the route of the
Jefferson Highway
The Jefferson Highway was an automobile highway stretching through the central United States from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jefferson Highway was replaced with the new numbered US Highway system in the late 1920s. ...
established in 1915, with that road running more than 2,300 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba to New Orleans, Louisiana.
McAlester was the site of the 2004 trial of
Terry Nichols
Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted of being an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevato ...
on Oklahoma state charges related to the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
. On December 25, 2000, an ice storm hit the area, leaving residents without electrical service and water for more than two weeks; in January 2007, another devastating
ice storm
An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on ex ...
crippled the city, leaving residents without
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
and water for more than a week.
Geography
McAlester is at the intersection of
U.S. Route 69 and
U.S. Route 270, in
Pittsburg County. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land. It has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 40.0 °F in January to 81.7 °F in July
The
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 7b.
Demographics
As of the
2000 census,
there were 17,783 people, 6,584
households
A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is impo ...
, and 4,187 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 1,133.1 people per square mile (437.6/km
2). There were 7,374 housing units at an average density of 469.9 per square mile (181.5/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.72%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 8.68%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 10.48%
Native American, 0.39%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.05%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 1.29% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.38% from two or more
races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 3.04% of the population.
There were 6,584 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13.7% had a female
household
A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
er with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,631, and the median income for a family was $36,480. Males had a median income of $29,502 versus $19,455 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $16,694. About 16.1% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Agriculture and coal mining supported the city's economy around the turn of the 20th century. Cotton was the main cash crop, and McAlester had three cotton gins and one cotton compress. Then a
boll weevil
The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing ...
infestation destroyed local cotton production. Meanwhile, railroads converted from coal to oil as their primary fuel, which marked the decline of the coal industry in the area.
[LeFlore, Jeanne. "McAlester History." ''McAlester News''. July 23, 2013. Accessed February 14, 2017.](_blank)
/ref>
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male off ...
is a major source of employment and revenue in McAlester.
During World War II, the U.S. Government built the Naval Ammunition Plant a few miles south of McAlester. In 1977, the facility became the U.S. Army Ammunition Plant. It is still the main site of ammunition production and storage for the armed forces in the United States.
Government
Two Oklahoma Department of Corrections
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC or ODOC) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklahoma City, across the street from the headquarters o ...
facilities, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male off ...
and the Jackie Brannon Correctional Center, are in McAlester. McAlester was also previously home to the in the Carl Albert Federal Building.
Organizations
''Pride in McAlester'' is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in April 2008. The organization provides educational services and operates a flea market where community members can recycle and reuse most materials. It also participates in scholarship opportunities, community functions, and citywide cleanup events.
Another non-profit called ''McAlester Main Street'', one of the various national Main Street Programs, is a public-private partnership with the City of McAlester, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which works to preserve and revitalize Old Town and Downtown McAlester.
Education
McAlester Public Schools operates public schools. The McAlester Public Library was built in 1970. As of 2010 the city has plans to build a new library. The Friends of the McAlester Public Library is financing the new branch.
McAlester includes Kiamichi Technology Center
Technology Centers, in Oklahoma, are Career and Technical schools which provide career and technology education for high school students in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The students generally spend part of each day in their respective schools purs ...
, which has over 300 students per school year. There is also an extension of Eastern Oklahoma State College
Eastern Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Wilburton, Oklahoma. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The school has a branch campus in McAlester and teaching sites in Antlers (Ki ...
that partners with Southeastern Oklahoma State University and East Central University. The Wanda Bass Higher Education Center, a branch of Eastern Oklahoma State College
Eastern Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Wilburton, Oklahoma. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The school has a branch campus in McAlester and teaching sites in Antlers (Ki ...
, is also in McAlester.
Transportation
McAlester is served by:
McAlester Regional Airport (KMLC; FAA ID: MLC), approximately three miles southwest of town, features a paved 5602’ x 100’ runway. The airport had commercial air service through Central Airlines
Central Airlines was a passenger airline (the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) called it a "local service" air carrier) in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to oper ...
in the 1960s.
Points of interest
Notable people
* Carl Albert
Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...
, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
* Melva Blancett, actress
* John Berryman
John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...
, poet
* Mary Blair
Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson; October 21, 1911 – July 26, 1978) was an American people, American artist, animator, and designer. She was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for s ...
, artist, Disney animator
* Ridge Bond
Ridgely McClure "Ridge" Bond (July 12, 1922 – May 6, 1997) was an American actor, singer and businessman, who is best known for playing the role of Curly in the musical ''Oklahoma!'' on Broadway and on tour. He retired from acting when the music ...
, actor/singer
* Riley Brett, race car driver
* Quentin Brooks
Quentin Thomas Brooks (September 4, 1920 – May 7, 2007) was an American sports shooter. He competed in the 50 m pistol event at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Personal life
Brooks served in the United States Army during World War II
...
, Olympian athlete
* Edwin H. Burba, Jr.
Edwin Hess Burba Jr. (born September 13, 1936) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as commander-in-chief of the United States Army Forces Command from 1989 to 1993. His father was also a general officer who served as deputy ...
, U.S. Army four-star general
* Lynn Cartwright
Lynn Cartwright (born Doralyn E. Cartwright; February 27, 1927 – January 2, 2004) was an American character actress known for her performance as the older version of Geena Davis' character, Dottie Hinson, in the 1992 film ''A League of Th ...
, actress
* Wilburn Cartwright
Wilburn Cartwright (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1979) was a lawyer, educator, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, and United States Army officer in World War II. The town of Cartwright, Oklahoma is named after him.
Early life
Born on a fa ...
, U.S. representative from Oklahoma
* W.H.H. Clayton, U.S. District Court judge
* Bennie L. Davis
Bennie Luke Davis (May 12, 1928September 23, 2012) was a United States Air Force General (United States), general who served as the List of commanders-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command, commander-in-chief of Strategic Air Command, and as the d ...
, U.S. Air Force four-star general
* Bob Dickson
Robert B. Dickson (born January 25, 1944) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Amateur career
Dickson was born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was introduced to golf at the age of five by his father, ...
, professional golfer
* Jerry Jewell
Jerry Jewell is an American voice actor and voice director who works on anime series for Funimation and OkraTron 5000. He has performed the voices for several anime roles and is noted for his roles as Kyo Sohma in the ''Fruits Basket'' series, ...
, voice actor affiliated with Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
* Levi Parham, singer-songwriter
* Clonie Gowen
Cycalona "Clonie" Gowen (born November 6, 1971) is an American professional poker player, based in Dallas, Texas.
Early life
Gowen was born in Florida, and grew up in Kiowa, Oklahoma. Her first name was inspired by the fact that she was born ...
, professional poker player
* Steve King
Steven Arnold King (born May 28, 1949) is an American far-right politician and businessman who served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district u ...
, NFL football player
* Steven T. Kuykendall, U.S. representative from California
* Pepper Martin
Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
* Dave Matthews, saxophonist
* J. J. McAlester
James Jackson McAlester (October 1, 1842 – September 21, 1920) was an American Confederate Army soldier and merchant. McAlester was the founder of McAlester, Oklahoma as well as a primary developer of the coal mining industry in eastern Oklaho ...
, pioneer for whom McAlester was named
* Pake McEntire
Del Stanley "Pake" McEntire (born June 23, 1953) is an American country music artist. He is elder brother to Reba McEntire and Susie Luchsinger.
He was born in Chockie, Oklahoma, United States, and signed to RCA Nashville in 1986, Pake made ...
, singer
* Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...
, singer/actress
* Susie McEntire-Eaton, singer
* Beverlee McKinsey
Beverlee McKinsey (August 9, 1935 – May 2, 2008) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles on daytime serials, including Iris Wheeler, Iris Cory Carrington on ''Another World (TV series), Another World'' and the spin-off series ...
, actress
* George Nigh
George Patterson Nigh (born June 9, 1927) is an American politician and civic leader from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Nigh served as the 17th and the 22nd governor of Oklahoma and as the eighth and tenth lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. He was th ...
(b. 1927), politician, Governor of Oklahoma (1979 - 1987), was born in McAlester
* Rutus Sarlls, first lawyer in South McAlester, political candidate, and successful defendant in a United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case involving the sale of malt beverages to Native Americans.
* Gene Stipe
Eugene E. "Gene" Stipe (October 21, 1926 – July 21, 2012) was an American politician from Oklahoma. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life and career
Gene Stipe was born in Blanco, Oklahoma, the son of Jacob Irvin Stipe, a farme ...
, longest-serving member of the Oklahoma Senate, represented McAlester (1957–2003)
* Steven W. Taylor
Steven W. Taylor (born June 7, 1949) is a former Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He is a former mayor of McAlester, Oklahoma. As a state district court judge, Taylor was the presiding judge in the state trial of the Oklahoma City ...
(b. 1949), attended high school in McAlester, mayor of McAlester (1982 - 1984), Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice (2004 - 2016), Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice (2011 - 2013)
* Edward Lloyd Thomas
Edward Lloyd Thomas (March 23, 1825 – March 8, 1898) was a Confederate brigadier general of infantry during the American Civil War from the state of Georgia. He was colonel of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment, which was assigned to Joseph R ...
, Confederate general
* Wade Watts
Wade Watts (23 September 1919 – 13 December 1998) was an American gospel preacher and civil rights activist from Oklahoma. He served as the state president of the Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP for sixteen years,The GOP's Great Black Hope ...
, Baptist minister; civil rights activist
* Walter L. Weaver, U.S. representative from Ohio
* Michael Wilson, screenwriter
* Micha Hancock
Micha Danielle Hancock (born November 10, 1992) is an American indoor volleyball player for the United States women's national volleyball team. Hancock played setter for the Penn State women's volleyball team, and won back-to-back national cham ...
, indoor volleyball player
NRHP sites
The following sites in McAlester are listed on the :
Notes
References
Further reading
*.
*
*
External links
City site
McAlester Chamber of Commerce
McAlester Photos
*Map fro
Center for Spatial Analysis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcalester, Oklahoma
Cities in Oklahoma
Cities in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma
County seats in Oklahoma
Micropolitan areas of Oklahoma
Populated places established in 1872