Atoka County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,143. Its

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 ...

is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named Atoka. The county is part of Choctaw Nation reservation lands.

History

The area forming Atoka County was part of the Choctaw Nation after the tribe was forced to relocate in the early 1830s to Indian Territory from its home in the Southeastern United States. Unlike the State of Oklahoma, whose county boundaries follow the precise north–south, east–west grid established with the state's township and range system, the Choctaw Nation established its internal divisions using easily recognizable landmarks, such as mountains and rivers, as borders. The territory of present-day Atoka County fell within the Pushmataha District, one of the three administrative super-regions comprising the Choctaw Nation. Within that district, it was in parts of Atoka,

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

, and Jack's Fork counties. The Choctaw named their Atoka County in honor of Chief Atoka, a leader of a party that migrated from Georgia to Indian Territory; the name was retained when Oklahoma became a state.James C. Milligan, "Atoka County." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
/ref> In 1858, the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

established a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

route through the area. It carried passengers, US Mail, and some freight. One station, Waddell's, was near Wesley; a second station, Geary's, was between Waddell's and the Muddy Boggy River, while a third was at Boggy Depot. During the Civil War, Confederate troops established a supply depot named Camp Boggy Depot here. After the war, the town of Atoka was established. In 1872, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (nicknamed the Christopher Casey) built a track through the county. It bypassed Boggy Depot and passed through Atoka; this access increased the importance of Atoka, but lack of the railroad contributed to the decline of Boggy Depot. The economy of Atoka County has been largely built on coal mining, limestone quarrying, forestry, and agriculture. Cattle raising became the leading business in the mid-twentieth century. A major employer is the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Farm (renamed the Mack H. Alford Correctional Center), a medium-security prison that opened in 1933.

Geography

Atoka County is in southeastern Oklahoma, in a 10-county area designated for tourism purposes by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as

Choctaw Country Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeast Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The current ...

. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. Atoka County is drained by North Boggy, Clear Boggy and Muddy Boggy Creeks, which are tributaries of the Red River, and by McGee Creek, which is a tributary of Muddy Boggy Creek. Atoka Reservoir is in the northern section of the county. The

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

are in the eastern part of the county, while the Sandstone Hills and Coastal Plains physiographic regions provide a more level terrain suitable for agriculture in the north and western part of the county. About 12 miles WSW of the town of Atoka is Boggy Depot State Park, the historic site of a once large community on the

route. The Katian Age of the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

Period of geological time is named for Katy Lake, which is two miles north east of Atoka. The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), sometimes referred to as a golden spike, is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. ...

) of the Katian stage is the Black Knob Ridge Section in the county.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 69 * US 75

U.S. Highway 75 * Oklahoma State Highway 3

State Highway 3 * Oklahoma State Highway 7

State Highway 7 * State Highway 43 *

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 ...

Adjacent counties

* Pittsburg County (north) * Pushmataha County (east) * Choctaw County (southeast) * Bryan County (south) * Johnston County (west) * Coal County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,182 people, 4,964 households, and 3,504 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,673 housing units at an average density of . 73.8% of the population were

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 ...

, 13.8% Native American, 3.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 1.1% of some other race and 7.1% of two or more races. 2.9% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 24.5% were of American, 11.7% Irish and 8.5% German ancestry. 97.4% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language. There were 4,964 households, out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% 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, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 117.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $24,752, and the median income for a family was $29,409. Males had a median income of $26,193 versus $18,861 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 county was $12,919. About 15.70% of families and 19.80% 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 25.40% of those under age 18 and 21.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Government and infrastructure

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections operates the Mack Alford Correctional Center in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, near Stringtown.

Communities

City

* Atoka (county seat)

Towns

* Caney * Stringtown * Tushka

Census-designated places

* Wardville * Lane

Other unincorporated places

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

* Bethany * Blackjack * Boehler * Boggy Depot * Bruno * Burg * Centerpoint * Chockie * Cook * Crystal * Daisy * Dok * East Allison * East Talico * Farris * Flora * Forrest Hill * Fugate * Goss * Grassy Lake * Half Bank Crossing *

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

* Hickory Hill * High Hill * Hopewell * Iron Stob * Limestone Gap * Lone Pine * Mayers Chapel * McGee Valley * Mt. Carmel * Mt. Olive * Negro Bend * New Hope * Nix * Old Farris * Patapoe * Payton Crossing * Pine Springs * Plainview * Pleasant Hill * Redden * Reynolds * Rock Springs * Standing Rock * Star * Taloah * Valley View * Voca * Wards Chapel * Webster * Wesley * West Allison * West Telico * Wilson

Education

K-12 school districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Atoka Public Schools * Caddo Public Schools * Caney Public Schools * Clayton Public Schools * Coalgate Public Schools * Coleman Public Schools * Harmony Public School * Kiowa Public Schools * Pittsburg Public Schools * Rock Creek Public Schools * Stringtown Public Schools * Tushka Public Schools * Wapanucka Public Schools There is one elementary school district, Lane Public School. Previously another elementary school district, Farris Public School, was in operation. In 2013 the Farris district closed and consolidated into the Lane district.

NRHP sites

The following sites in Atoka County are listed on 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 ...

: * Atoka Armory, Atoka * Atoka Community Building, Atoka * Isaac Billy Homestead and Family Cemetery, Daisy * Boggy Depot Site, Atoka * First Methodist Church Building, Atoka * First Oil Well in Oklahoma, Wapanucka * Indian Citizen Building, Atoka * Captain Charles LeFlore House, Limestone Gap * Masonic Temple, Atoka * Bo McAlister Site, Wapanucka * Middle Boggy Battlefield Site and Confederate Cemetery, Atoka * Old Atoka County Courthouse, Atoka * Old Atoka State Bank, Atoka * Pioneer Club, Atoka * Joe Ralls House, Atoka * Captain James S. Standley House, Atoka * Waddell's Station Site, Wesley * Zweigel Hardware Store Building, Atoka

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Atoka County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

Atoka County Sheriff's Office
{{coord, 34.38, -96.05, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990, display=title 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907