Antlers is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Pushmataha County,
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.
The population was 2,221 as of the
2020 United States census. The town was named for a kind of tree that becomes festooned with antlers shed by deer, and is taken as a sign of the location of a spring frequented by deer.
[Wilson, Linda D. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Antlers." Retrieved January 9, 2013.]
History
Evidence exists of prehistoric occupation and activity within the city limits of present-day Antlers. Arrowheads are found periodically at sites throughout the town. Most of the prehistoric sites are atop hills, which the inhabitants could use for defensive purposes and found the most healthful.
A
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...
settlement developed at
Spiro Mounds
Spiro Mounds (Smithsonian trinomial, 34 LF 40) is an Indigenous archaeological site located in present-day eastern Oklahoma. The site was built by people from the Arkansas Valley Caddoan culture. that remains from an Native Americans in the Uni ...
, which was active from the mid-9th into the 15th century. This is the westernmost site of the culture and it is "one of the most important archeological discoveries in North America."
["LeFlore County: The Spiro Mounds Site"](_blank)
''Oklahoma's Past,'' Oklahoma Archeological Survey, 2005, University of Oklahoma, accessed 19 January 2016 The 80-acre site is preserved today as Oklahoma's only state archeological park.
The Spiro Mounds leaders controlled the area of Antlers and the rest of the
Kiamichi River valley, as well as a large portion of what is now
southeastern Oklahoma and adjacent states. The Mississippian culture was based along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and its tributaries. Its largest center was at
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...
, just to the east of the Mississippi in present-day Illinois. The peoples had an extensive trading network that spanned the continent from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. Spiro Mounds culture was also part of the
Southeast Ceremonial Complex, an important culture which extended into what is now known as the Southeastern United States.
In the era of European exploration and colonization, the historic
Caddo Indians
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...
, descendants of the Mississippians, had this area as part of their large territory. Rarely establishing permanent settlements, they were highly nomadic. They lived in bands that were allied in three loose regional confederacies. They lived by gathering plants and nuts, hunting and fishing.
Not recognizing that this was already Caddo territory, the United States granted the lands to the
Choctaw Indians
The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw ...
in 1832 by the
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between the Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States government. This treaty was the first removal treaty wh ...
. This was in exchange for the Choctaw ceding their land in the American Southeast to the federal government during the period of
Indian Removal. The other
Five Civilized Tribes
The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...
(Muskogee (Creek), Cherokee, Chickasaw and Seminole) were also forced to cede their lands in the same period.
The Choctaw established communities that replicated the three major divisions of their people in the Southeast, so there were three centers of loose government. White settler encroachment on their land soon began again. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, most of the Choctaw allied with the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
, which had suggested it would support an independent Indian state if it won the war.
During the 1880s the
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, more popularly known as the "Frisco", built a north–south line through 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 ...
, connecting
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 ...
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 ...
. The US treaties required the tribes to grant the railroads rights of way. The railroad paralleled the
Kiamichi River throughout much of its route in present-day
Pushmataha County. The railroads established train stations every few miles to be centers of new development. They also were the sites of section houses; supervisors for their respective miles of track lived in the section houses to administer the track and its
right-of-way. These stations also served as points at which the trains could draw water.
The site of Antlers was selected for a station due to a local freshwater spring. Adjacent stations were established at Davenport — now
Kellond — to the north, and
Hamden to the south. The Choctaw in this sparsely populated area, at that time known as
Jack's Fork County 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 ...
in the
Indian Territory
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 States, ...
, farmed or subsisted on the land.
The Choctaw had built few roads or improved trails. The Frisco Railroad was the chief form of transportation through the Territory. It offered six trains per day (three in each direction) until it closed to passenger traffic during the mid 1960s. The loss of passenger rail followed the construction of several highways linking Antlers to other communities, including
U.S. Highway 271,
Oklahoma State Highway 7
State Highway 7 (abbreviated SH-7) is a highway in southern Oklahoma. This lengthy highway connects many towns in Oklahoma's "Little Dixie (Oklahoma), Little Dixie" area. It runs from Interstate 44 (Oklahoma), Interstate 44 in Lawton, Okla ...
, and
Oklahoma State Highway 2
State Highway 2, abbreviated SH-2 or OK-2, is a designation for two distinct highways maintained by the United States, U.S. state of Oklahoma. Though they were once connected, the middle section of highway was Concurrency (road), concurrent wit ...
. The southern section of the
Indian Nation Turnpike
The Indian Nation Turnpike, also designated State Highway 375 (SH-375), is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road in southeastern Oklahoma, United States, running between Hugo, Oklahoma, Hugo and Henryetta, Oklahoma, Henryetta ...
, which has an interchange at Antlers, opened in 1970. The Frisco Railroad continued freight operations until 1981, when it closed altogether and its rails were removed. This was an era of railroad restructuring and reductions nationwide.
A
United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
was established at Antlers, Indian Territory, on August 26, 1887. According to early European-American settler Colonel Victor M. Locke, Jr., the following is an account of how the name was attached to it. A hunter was encamped at the spring at present-day Antlers early one autumn and killed a "magnificent buck." He nailed its antlers to a tree close to the spring as a challenge to other hunters, who followed suit.
Railroad officials later designated the new station stop as "Antlers" in recognition of this prominent local landmark tree bristling with points.
The Choctaw government allowed some European Americans to settle on their land, but provided them no protections or government services of any kind. During the 1890s the U.S. government acted to provide a minimal level of support. It established Recording Districts throughout the lands of all
Five Civilized Tribes
The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...
of the Indian Territory. Antlers became Record Town of Recording District #24, which covered almost all of present-day Pushmataha, Choctaw and McCurtain counties. American citizens living in this area were provided with the rudiments of a
justice system, with a US Court operating on a part-time schedule.

To support the needs of a Record Town, a United States Court was established at Antlers. A large wooden courthouse was built to accommodate the justices, lawyers and courtroom facilities necessary. Antlers became home to a small government outpost. During the waning days of the Indian Territory, the
Republican Party was in power in Washington, D.C. The federal justices, sheriffs, deputies, and court clerks were all appointed by the Republican Party according to patronage practices of the time. The majority of local Native American residents, who had been removed from former
Confederate States
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states th ...
, had allied with the Confederacy in the hopes of gaining an Indian state. They continued to be affiliated mostly with the
Democratic Party.
In order to prepare for Oklahoma's statehood, the United States Government surveyed and plotted every town of significance. Antlers was surveyed in 1901 and a
townsite
A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan ( ...
of was mapped. Once the area was included in a state, residents could establish formal ownership of their homes and property.
Under the
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...
and the related
Curtis Act
The Curtis Act of 1898 was an amendment to the United States Dawes Act; it resulted in the break-up of tribal governments and communal lands in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory: the Choctaw, Chickasa ...
, the United States required changes among all the Native American nations in Indian Territory to enable admission of Oklahoma as a state. As part of a policy of assimilation, tribal governments were dissolved and tribal control of communal lands was ended, in order to extinguish Native American land titles. Communal lands were allocated to individual households of members of tribes. Any remaining land the government declared 'surplus' and sold, including to non-Natives. Native Americans lost most of their land in these transactions. The Indian Territory was absorbed into the state of Oklahoma on November 16, 1907. Antlers lost its prized status as a United States federal court town; and many jobs left the town when courts were established elsewhere. Numerous residents left to gain employment in other cities.
Antlers has served as a local
resort town
A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...
, as it is a gateway to the
Kiamichi Mountains. Many tourists came to fish, hunt, and relax in the town and nearby mountains. Many came from
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 ...
. Sustained growth occurred for several decades.
On
April 12, 1945, Antlers was devastated by a powerful
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
. Moving southwest to northeast, it destroyed stores and homes in a wide swath, including stores and shops at the south end of High Street. Sixty-seven residents were killed, and more than 300 injured. Antlers High School was adapted as a makeshift morgue to receive bodies. In the 300 block of East Main Street, the large and historic St. Agnes Academy for Choctaw Indians was destroyed. Two nuns were killed but all the students survived. Reporting of the destructive tornado was superseded by coverage of the death of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, which also occurred that day. But the federal government dispatched U.S. Army troops to Antlers from
Camp Maxey
Camp Maxey is a Texas Military Department training facility that was originally built as a U.S. Army infantry-training camp during World War II. It was occupied from July 1942 to early 1946, and located near the community of Powderly, Texas, in ...
, Texas, a World War II-era Army base located between Paris and
Arthur City, Texas. The troops assisted with rescue, maintaining law and order, and clearing rubble. Another, similarly serious tornado struck Antlers in April 1954 resulting in 40 fatalities.
Meteorologists
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
have since retroactively categorized the Antlers tornado as an F5, the most powerful on the
Fujita Scale
The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
. Local residents believed that two tornadoes struck the town, with witnesses claiming to have seen two funnels. The Antlers tornado funnel measured a half-mile wide at its base, and the two
funnel clouds observed locally were within the larger one. The Antlers F5 was so powerful that it could be clearly heard, as well as seen, four miles (6 km) east of town at the Ethel Road crossroads, and as far north as Kosoma.
After 1945 the town had growth and improvements similar to those in other parts of the United States. With the advent of universal electrical service, most homes gained air-conditioning, and later almost all households acquired televisions.
Social relations
A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or k ...
changed at this point, as individuals and families found their entertainment indoors, rather than outdoors or downtown.
In 1975 R.C. Pruett opened East Town Village on the eastern outskirts of Antlers. He duplicated the kind of development taking place across the country, with major retailers relocating from historic downtowns to larger facilities on the outskirts. Pruett's grocery store was new. But within a few years, merchants began deserting Antlers' historic downtown for sites at East Town Village or other locations, or closing altogether.
At the same time, Antlers residents began shopping at
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
, which offered greater variety and lower prices than Antlers' local merchants were able to offer. In recent years there has been an effort to declare Antlers a "
Main Street USA" site, to treat its historic center as a destination, and emphasize its architecture. Due to a series of arson and fires beginning in the 1970s, Antlers lost a number of its stores, changing the character of its downtown. But the remaining buildings are sturdy brick with antique facades. In recent years merchants have been removing the 1960s-era awnings and other structures, adopted in a modernization effort, to return the buildings to their unique historic character.
During recent years the
Antlers Frisco Depot and Antlers Spring have been added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, as they contribute to the architecture and history of the town. The depot was built in 1913, at a time when the state had imposed legal
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...
. Its separate waiting rooms and toilets for white and black passengers expressed the racial inequality and lack of civil rights for minorities that was incorporated into the design of public buildings. More information on the history of Antlers may be found at the
Pushmataha County Historical Society.
Geography
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 city has a total area of , all land.
The historic center of Antlers—not including its newly expanded city limits—straddles at least two
watersheds. Rain falling in the northeast part of town drains into creeks flowing northward directly into the
Kiamichi River. This soil is rocky, with bedrock near the surface. Water falling elsewhere in the town drains into creeks draining southward into Beaver Creek, which flows to the Kiamichi River. This soil is sandy. Standpipe Hill—which overlooks downtown Antlers—stands considerably higher, and overlooks the Kiamichi River valley to the north.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Antlers has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Antlers was on August 10, 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 2, 1951.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,453 people living in the city.
The population density was . There were 1,177 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.13%
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 ...
, 1.84%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 14.93%
Native American, 0.08%
Asian, 0.31% from
other races, and 4.70% 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 1.76% of the population.
There were 1,068 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,594, and the median income for a family was $22,684. Males had a median income of $23,958 versus $16,688 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 city was $11,285. About 28.9% of families and 31.6% 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 42.7% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The city has a
council-manager government system. The city council is made up of five members, one from each of the four wards in the city, and one at large member. The city manager, city attorney, and municipal judge are appointed by the council. The Mayor is also appointed by the council.
Education
The city has three schools: Antlers Elementary (Grades PreK-5), Obuch Middle School (Grades 6-8), and Antlers High School (9-12).
Transportation
U.S. Route 271 and
Oklahoma State Highway 3
State Highway 3, also abbreviated as SH-3 or OK-3, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Traveling diagonally through Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the far southeastern corner of the state, SH-3 is the longest state highway ...
run through town, while
Oklahoma State Highway 2
State Highway 2, abbreviated SH-2 or OK-2, is a designation for two distinct highways maintained by the United States, U.S. state of Oklahoma. Though they were once connected, the middle section of highway was Concurrency (road), concurrent wit ...
has its southern terminus in Antlers, and the city borders the
Indian Nation Turnpike
The Indian Nation Turnpike, also designated State Highway 375 (SH-375), is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road in southeastern Oklahoma, United States, running between Hugo, Oklahoma, Hugo and Henryetta, Oklahoma, Henryetta ...
(a.k.a.
Oklahoma State Highway 375) on one side.
Antlers Municipal Airport (FAA Identifier: 80F), about 3 miles southwest of Antlers, features a 4001’ x 60’ asphalt runway.
Notable people
*
Nicole DeHuff - actress
*
Charles C. Stephenson Jr. - energy company CEO
References
External links
"Antlers" Oklahoma Historical Society
City of Antlers
{{authority control
Cities in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
Cities in Oklahoma
County seats in Oklahoma
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma