Belzoni is a community in 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. Located several miles southwest of

Rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...

, it was formerly home to a thriving community and continues as a place name. Belzoni was established during the waning years 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 ...

as a sovereign entity, and was settled by white settlers from mostly Southern states. The settlement rapidly grew into a successful farming hub and population center in that area. On October 20, 1905 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 Belzoni,

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, ...

– a testament to its success. As farming declined as a way of livelihood in Pushmataha County, so did the prospects for Belzoni's continued viability. It lost its role as population center to Rattan, and on October 31, 1954 its post office was closed. During the 1970s the filling of the newly constructed

Hugo Lake Hugo Lake is manmade lake located east of Hugo, in Choctaw County, Oklahoma, United States. It is formed by Hugo Lake Dam on the Kiamichi River upstream from the Red River. The dam is visible from U.S. Route 70, which crosses its spillwa ...

reservoir on the

Kiamichi River The Kiamichi River is a river in southeastern Oklahoma, United States of America. A tributary of the Red River of the South, its headwaters rise on Pine Mountain in the Ouachita Mountains near the Arkansas border. From its source in Polk County, ...

took much of the formerly rich agricultural land south of Belzoni, and submerged a well-known local landmark along the river known as the “Belzoni Narrows.” Belzoni is named for

Giovanni Battista Belzoni Giovanni Battista Belzoni (; 5 November 1778 – 3 December 1823), sometimes known as The Great Belzoni, was a prolific Italian explorer and pioneer archaeologist of Egyptian antiquities. He is known for his removal to England of the seven-tonn ...

, sometimes called “The Great Belzoni”, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

explorer and archaeologist who was well known for his role in discovering or investigating ancient

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian historical sites, including the

Great Pyramids The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. All were built during the ...

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...

. Prior to Oklahoma's statehood, Belzoni was located in

Cedar County, Choctaw Nation Cedar County was a political subdivision of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. The county formed part of the nation’s Apukshunnubbee District, or Second District, one of three administrative super-regions. Th ...

. Cedar County was part of the

Apukshunnubbee District Apukshunnubbee District was one of three provinces, or districts, comprising the former Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. Also called the Second District, it encompassed the southeastern one-third of the nation. The Apukshunnubbee District was ...

.Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.

References

Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma Unincorporated communities in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-geo-stub

See also

References