Krebs is a city in Pittsburg 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 2,083 at the time of the 2020 United States census, up 1.5% from the 2,053 reported at the 2010 census, which in turn was a slight increase from the 2,051 reported in 2000.Spearman, Pat. "Krebs." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''
Accessed May 2, 2016. Its nickname is "Little Italy." Krebs was founded before Oklahoma statehood as a coal-mining town in 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 ...

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, ...

History

A post office was established at Krebs, Indian Territory on February 10, 1886. At the time of its founding, Krebs was located in Tobucksy 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

. Krebs began as a coal-mining camp housing European immigrants who came to work coal mines in the surrounding area. The town is named after Judge Edmond Folsom Krebs (1821-1893), a county judge in Tobucksy County. Judge Krebs was born of mixed German and Choctaw ancestry in Winston County, Mississippi."History of Krebs." Krebs History Museum. undated.
Accessed August 30, 2017.

1892 mining explosion

An explosion in the Osage Coal & Mining Company’s No. 11 mine on January 7, 1892 killed about 100 workers and injured another 150,"Disaster: Mine explodes in Oklahoma." This Day in History.
Accessed May 6, 2016 but mining continued to prosper. By 1895, there were 15 mines operating nearby. The first local of the United Mine Workers in Indian Territory was founded in the town in 1898. Krebs was linked to McAlester by the Choctaw Railway and Lighting Company

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

railroad.

Early Krebs

Krebs was incorporated in the Choctaw Nation in 1903, with Mel D. Reed elected as the first mayor and Bob Miller as the first chief of police. The current St. Joseph's Catholic Church was constructed in 1903. It and an opera house were the first two brick buildings in town. An earlier church and the first opera house, both built of wood, had previously burned down. The Krebs school system was organized in 1907, the same year that the Choctaw Nation and Indian Territory governments were replaced by the new State of Oklahoma. The

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

(also known as the MKT or "Katy") built a branch from McAlester to Wilburton, on which it ran a two-coach train known affectionately as "Nellie." The Katy station was in downtown Krebs. Later, another station was built south of town on the East-West line to serve the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (a.k.a. CRI&P or Rock Island.) For a time, there was also an electric

line from McAlester through Krebs to Hartshorne. Krebs had five newspapers at different times: Krebs ''Eagle'', Krebs ''Cyclone'', Krebs ''Banner'', Krebs ''Advertiser'', and ''The Oklahoma Miner.''

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 , of which is land and 0.29% is water. Krebs is east of McAlester, the county seat, on U.S. Route 270 and State Highway 31.

Notable places

The Krebs

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

was re-built as a brick structure in 1903, after the first one had been destroyed by fire the previous year. It and the St. Joseph's

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

were the first brick buildings to go up in Krebs. It was the only place for miles around that featured stage shows. Many fine road shows played here, and moving pictures were shown in the Opera House, also. The Dreamland Theater, owned and operated by Mr. & Mrs. David Holstead, later became the popular

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

in Krebs. The original wooden St. Joseph's Church also burned in 1902, and was replaced by a brick church in 1903. It has been completely refurbished in recent years. Also taking place in town was the

Terrapin Terrapins are a group of several species of small turtle (order Testudines) living in freshwater, fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydid ...

Derby, originated in 1929 when Mayor J.T. Sadler visited the Miller Brothers Shows in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Mayor Sadler brought the idea back to Krebs as a fundraising idea. The derby was a success, and enough money was raised to purchase a new truck for the city. Over the years the derby raised funds that provided vehicles and equipment for one of the finest volunteer fire departments in the region. Krebs had an Italian Band that played in a double-decker

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

in downtown Krebs. There were at least five bandstands between McAlester and Hartshorne that the band played at on weekends, providing entertainment for families from all over. Many families rode the street car to these sites for picnics and festivals. The city of Krebs maintains a city park which includes a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

park, a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) walking track, picnic facilities, a two-story replica of the gazebo that had stood in the town square, and will include playground equipment. The park stands on a portion of the old fairground/racetrack site of a hundred years ago. The original racetrack was a , banked oval track where horses, sulkys, and early autos were raced. The Krebs Italian Band played many festivals or 'festas' at the park in bygone simpler times. For years during the 1990s, "The Ethnic Festival" was a popular attraction on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

weekend, taking place on this Historical Site. Games such as

bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anc ...

ball and morra were played by all for fun.

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, there were 2,051 people, 858 households, and 560 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 949 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.40%

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 ...

, 1.17%

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 13.60% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 5.90% 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 1.66% of the population. There were 858 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% 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, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,514, and the median income for a family was $31,641. Males had a median income of $27,321 versus $17,235 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 $13,042. About 16.6% of families and 19.1% 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 25.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Krebs has an aldermanic form of government. The current mayor is Tommy Ray Walker. The city has four council persons. Krebs has a police force of nine officers.

References

External links

Spearman, Pat. "Krebs." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture''

"Oklahoma miner" newspaper
hosted by th
Gateway to Oklahoma History

White, Kathryn Jenson. "''Ciao'' Down in Oklahoma's Little Italy." ''Oklahoma Today''. pp. 10 – 13. May-June 1986.
{{authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Italian-American culture Little Italys in the United States