Pumpkin Center 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
Muskogee County
Muskogee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 70,990. The county seat is Muskogee. The county and city were named for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.[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 about 14 miles east of the city of
Muskogee.
This is not to be confused with the
Pumpkin Center located in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma which is about 10 miles northeast of the city of
Okmulgee,
or with the
Pumpkin Center located in Comanche County, Oklahoma which is about 10 miles east of
Lawton,
or with the
Pumpkin Center located in Cherokee County, Oklahoma which is about 7.5 miles northeast of
Braggs.
No information appears on the origins of the name; however, “Pumpkin Center” as a town name was widely publicized by one
Cal Stewart
Cal Stewart (b. 1856 Charlotte County, Virginia, d. December 7, 1919) was an American comedian and humorist who pioneered in vaudeville and early sound recordings. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played "Uncle Josh" ...
, who was a popular spoken-word recording artist in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
He frequently played the character of a gullible individual by the name of Uncle Josh Weathersby who hailed from the fictional town of "Pumpkin Center" or "Punkin Center".
The recordings described life in Pumpkin Center, as well as the character’s collisions with modernity in New York City.
Perhaps as a result, there are at least 31 communities in the U.S. named Pumpkin Center scattered across 16 states, including Alabama (3), Arizona (2), California (2), Florida, Georgia, Indiana (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri (2), Mississippi, North Carolina (3), Oklahoma (4), South Dakota, Tennessee (3) and Virginia (2).
References
Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma
Unincorporated communities in Muskogee County, Oklahoma
{{Oklahoma-geo-stub