Wister is a town in
Le Flore County, Oklahoma
LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,384. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choct ...
, United States. It is part of the
Fort Smith metropolitan area
The Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a five-county area including three Arkansas counties and two Oklahoma counties, and anchored by the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The total MSA populati ...
. The population was 1,102 at the 2010 census. Wister is named for Gutman G. Wister, an official with the
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad
The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), known informally as the "Choctaw Route," was an American railroad in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed its main li ...
.
[ Harold Crain, "Wister." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.](_blank)
Accessed March 19, 2015.
History
A post office was established at Wister, Indian Territory, on June 30, 1890. The community was named for an official of the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad, one of the two railroads that intersected in the town.
At the time of its founding, Wister was located in
Sugar Loaf 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 ...
.
Until it became known as Wister, the settlement had been known as Wister Junction, due to its location at the crossing of two railroad routes. The
Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad
The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), known informally as the "Choctaw Route," was an American railroad in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed its main li ...
was an east-west route linking Wister Junction with
McAlester and passing through lucrative coal mining towns along the way. Its eastern terminus was at the
St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy a ...
, a north-south route connecting
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 ...
with
Paris, Texas
Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020.
History
Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River Co ...
. After receiving its post office, the town could no longer be known as Wister Junction, as federal post office regulations forbade new post offices from carrying descriptive names such as "Junction," "Mountain," or "Corner."
[Information about this regulation may be found in the original applications filed by communities seeking post offices. These are found within Record Group 28, Records of the U.S. Post Office, in the National Archives. The records are most commonly available as Microfilm 1126.]
Geography
Wister is located east of
McAlester and west of the Oklahoma-
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
border.
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 town has a total area of , of which is land and (2.04%) is water.
Wister is located on
Lake Wister
Lake Wister is a reservoir in Le Flore County, in southeast Oklahoma.Crain, Harold. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Wister The lake is created by the Poteau River and the Fourche Maline creek. Wister Lake was authorized for flo ...
. Crappie, bass and catfish are the most frequently sought fish species in the lake. Along with fishing, Wister Lake also offers a wide variety of tourist activities such as camping, waterskiing, and swimming.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 1,002 people, 412 households, and 276 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 450 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 83.93%
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 ...
, 11.18%
Native American, 0.20%
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 ...
, 0.10% 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 4.59% from two or more races.
Hispanics
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties former ...
or
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
of any race made up 2.20% of the population.
There were 412 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 2.99.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $20,602, and the median income for a family was $26,417. Males had a median income of $21,154 versus $15,556 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 town was $11,851. About 15.5% 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 26.3% of those under the age of 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Wister Public Schools operates public schools.
References
External links
Wister Public LibraryOklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control
Towns in LeFlore County, Oklahoma
Towns in Oklahoma
Fort Smith metropolitan area