Nelson is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northwestern Choctaw 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 ...

, United States. It is six miles north of Soper. Spencer Academy, a Choctaw Nation school, was moved here from Spencerville. A United States Post Office was established at Nelson, Indian Territory on March 10, 1881 and operated until November 30, 1954. Until September 15, 1881, the official name of this post office was Nelsons. Nelson is named for Cole E. Nelson, prominent Choctaw Indian and National Attorney 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 ...

. Until the advent of Oklahoma's statehood Nelson was located in

Kiamitia County Kiamitia County, also known as Kiamichi County, was a political subdivision of the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. The county formed part of the nation's Pushmataha District, or Third District, one of three administrative super-regions. Kiamitia ...

(Kiamichi County), a part 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 ...

of the Choctaw Nation.Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38. Nelson's livelihood as a commercial and population center was threatened after the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway built its tracks east of Nelson, passing instead through the communities of Antlers, Hamden, Speer and Hugo. Although it retained a lively community for decades following the railroad's construction in the 1880s, the towns along the railroad sapped it of potential commercial success. Nelson continues to be home to several families, and as such remains the area's oldest settlement.

References

Unincorporated communities in Choctaw County, Oklahoma Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-geo-stub