Rock Island is a town in

Le Flore County LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 48,129. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choc ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. It is part of the

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 646 at the 2010 census, a decline of 8.9 percent from the figure of 709 recorded in 2000.

History

The Fort Smith and Southern Railway built a north–south line through what is now Le Flore County in 1886; the line was sold the next year to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad ("the Frisco"). In 1903–04 the

Midland Valley Railroad The Midland Valley Railroad (MV) was a railroad company incorporated on June 4, 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hope, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. It was backed by C. Jared Ingersoll, a Philadelp ...

laid an east-west line. The settlement originally known as Maney Junction developed at the crossing of these railroads. A post office was established as Rock Island, Indian Territory on February 1, 1905. It was presumably named for Rock Island, Illinois. At the time of its founding, the community was located in Skullyville County, part of the

Moshulatubbee District Moshulatubbee District was one of three provinces, or districts, 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 spel ...

of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

. Rock Island started the process of incorporation in 1989, but the County Commissioners did not approve the incorporation until 2004.Charlene Williams Dunn, "Rock Island," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed March 22, 2015.

Geography

Rock Island is northeast of Poteau. The town sits on

Oklahoma State Highway 112 State Highway 112 is a 24.6 mi (39.6 km) state highway in Le Flore County, Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of th ...

at the western terminus of Oklahoma State Highway 120. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.66%) is water.

Economy

Rock Island's economy has depended on agriculture since its founding. Many residents now commute to work in nearby towns such as Poteau and Fort Smith.

Railroad tunnel

Jenson Tunnel Jenson Railroad Tunnel "KCS - Jenson Tunnel,"
Bridgehunter.com. 2008.Accessed March 2 ...

is located just northeast of Rock Island and is the only known railroad tunnel in Oklahoma. Now used by the Kansas City Southern, it was built by Frisco Railway in 1885 and is approximately 1,180 feet long.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 709 people, 264 households, and 213 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 279 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.73%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.64% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 5.92% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population. There were 264 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,625, and the median income for a family was $34,545. Males had a median income of $26,442 versus $18,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $14,115. About 8.9% of families and 11.5% 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 ...

, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Authority control Towns in LeFlore County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Fort Smith metropolitan area