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Spiro 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. 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 2,164 at the 2010 census, a 2.8 percent decline from the figure of 2,227 recorded in 2000. Developed as a railroad station in an agricultural area in the late 19th century, the small town is notable for its proximity to 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 ...
. This is 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 ...
center that was active from about 900 to 1450 CE that was part of a culture in Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas. Today, the 80-acre site with several earthwork mounds is preserved as Oklahoma's only State Archeological Park and one of North America's most important archaeological sites. It is the westernmost site of the expansive Mississippian culture, which had associated centers through the Mississippi and tributary river valleys.


History

In 1895 and 1896, the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (later owned by the Kansas City Southern Railroad) established a station at the present site of Spiro, which connected the area to the city of
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 ...
. This railroad access attracted residents from the nearby town of Skullyville, and Spiro soon developed as the principal town in this area. The town population was 543 in 1900.Harold Crain, "Spiro"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
A post office was established at Spiro, Indian Territory on September 21, 1898. At the time of its founding, Spiro was located in Skullyville County, a part of the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. Several accounts differ as to how the post office was named. One claims that Spiro was the maiden name of the first postmistress. Another claims it was the maiden name of the mother of a Fort Smith banker. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Spiro was named after Celia Spiro, wife of an Oklahoma banker, Iser H Nakdimen. He founded the City National Bank in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and the First National Bank in Muldrow, Oklahoma. Cotton was an important cash crop. In 1901, Spiro had three cotton yards and one
cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...
. By 1910, there were three
cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...
s and the population had grown to 1,173. As cotton cultivation became more mechanized, labor needs declined. The
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
of the 1930s took the heart out of the market. Timber harvesting and processing and livestock became important industries in the region. The population declined to 969 in 1930, as agricultural workers migrated to other areas for jobs. It rebounded to 1,365 by 1950 as the economy grew. On March 26, 1976, the town was struck by an F5 tornado, the highest level on the Fujita scale, resulting in two deaths.


Geography

Spiro is located south of 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 ...
, southwest of
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 ...
and west of the Oklahoma-
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
border. 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 (3.18%) is water.


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,227 people, 875 households, and 587 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 992 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 80.47%
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 ...
, 5.21%
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 ...
, 6.11% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 1.35% from other races, and 6.69% 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 2.51% of the population. There were 875 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $18,241, and the median income for a family was $25,556. Males had a median income of $23,716 versus $16,694 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,195. About 23.2% of families and 29.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.8% of those under age 18 and 29.9% of those age 65 or over. The local government consists of city council members and a mayor. Doug Harper, a lifelong resident of and business owner in Spiro, serves as the towns mayor.


Notable people

* Bill Blankenship
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach, born in Spiro in 1956 * Albert E. Brumley (1905–1977) – gospel songwriter and publisher, born in Spiro in 1905 * Henry Burris – professional
Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
player, born in Spiro in 1975 * Ryan Franklin (b. 1973) –
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
, grew up in Spiro * Dallas FrazierBakersfield Sound singer-songwriter, born in Spiro in 1939 * Rod Shoate – professional football player for the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...


References


External links


Spiro Public Library

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