Fort Coffee is a town 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 the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. Originally constructed as a U. S. Army fort in 1834, it was named for U. S. General John Coffee, a veteran of the Seminole Wars.Dennis Peterson. "Fort Coffee." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Retrieved September 16, 2012. 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 424 at the 2010 census, a gain of 2.9 percent over the figure of 412 in 2000.

History

The town of Fort Coffee traces its beginnings to 1832, when the Choctaw Indian tribe was removed from the southeastern United States and transported to land in the eastern part of

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, ...

(now in the state of Oklahoma). Most of the travel was by water, and the site of Fort Coffee became a port on the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. In 1834, the Choctaw Nation petitioned the U.S. War Department to construct a fort that would stop the flow of alcohol and other illegal items from flowing into their territory along the Arkansas River. The garrison succeeded in its mission and also built roads connecting

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any ot ...

, and

Fort Towson Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluen ...

. The army abandoned Fort Coffee in 1838 when Fort Smith was reestablished. The site of Fort Coffee was located in Skullyville County, a 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 ...

. In 1843, the Choctaw nation allowed the Methodist Episcopal church to establish the Fort Coffee Choctaw Boys Academy in the buildings. This school continued until the outbreak of the Civil War, when Confederate forces commanded by General Stand Watie occupied the site. The Union Army recaptured the fort in 1863. Most of the buildings were burned during this time. Several small houses were built using the foundation stones. The Choctaw were required to release their slaves by the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866. Many of the freed men remained in the Choctaw Nation lands. Many of these were legally adopted into the Choctaw Nation in 1885, thus qualifying for land allotments by the Dawes Commission. The local economy has largely been based on agriculture. Major crops included cotton, livestock and soybeans. There was a cotton gin in Fort Coffee to handle locally grown crops. The Fort Smith and Western Railroad and the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway (bought by the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

in 1900) transported the products to outside markets. The town of Fort Coffee did not incorporate until 1998.

Geography

Fort Coffee is located northeast of Spiro. 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 0.16% is water. The town is just south of a bend of the

, downstream from the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, and north of U.S. Route 271, about 11 miles from the Arkansas border.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 412 people, 163 households and 109 families residing in the town. 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 176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 26.21%

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 ...

, 62.86%

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 ...

, 3.88% Native American, and 7.04% from two or more races. There were 163 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% 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, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17. Age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $26,827, and the median family income was $31,528. Males had a median income of $26,094 versus $22,344 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 $14,039. About 25.6% of families and 30.6% 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 36.9% of those under age 18 and 50.0% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Despite the

Spiro, Oklahoma Spiro is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Fort Smith metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,164 at the 2010 census, a 2.8 ...

mailing address, the

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 ...

and the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center are in Fort Coffee. W. D. Mayo Lock and Dam, part of the

McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System The McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) is part of the Inland waterways of the United States, United States inland waterway system originating at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa and running southeast through Oklahoma and Arka ...

, is just northeast of town, while a boat ramp with access to the river above W. D. Mayo Lock and Dam is just north of town.

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Fort Coffee

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control Towns in LeFlore County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Fort Smith metropolitan area Populated places established in 1834 1834 establishments in Indian Territory