Stilwell / ᏍᏗᎳᏪᎵ is a city located in the sovereign territory of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

. It is also the

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 ...

of Adair 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 ...

. The population was 3,700 as of the 2020 U.S. census, a decline of 6.7 percent from the 3,949 population recorded in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. The Oklahoma governor and legislature proclaimed Stilwell as the "Strawberry Capital of the World” in 1949, but the role of strawberries in the local economy has diminished significantly since then. Today, residents of Stilwell are among the poorest and most

impoverished Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

in the United States. Stilwell also serves as a gateway to

Lake Tenkiller Tenkiller Ferry Lake, or more simply, Lake Tenkiller, is a reservoir in eastern Oklahoma formed by the damming of the Illinois River. The earth-fill dam was constructed between 1947 and 1952 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for purpo ...

and

Adair Park Adair Park is a historic residential neighborhood located southwest of downtown Atlanta. It has the form of a left Bracket#Curly brackets, curly bracket, bordered by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA north–south rail lin ...

, formerly called Adair State Park before it was defunded.Barker, Betty Starr. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Stilwell." Retrieved September 10, 201

.

History

Stilwell's history began in 1838 as an end point of the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

, with the

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

and

forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...

of thousands of Indigenous people to the Stilwell area. The trail was called ''nu na da ul tsun yi'' in

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

, or "the place where they cried". The U.S. federal government set up a “disbandment depot” outside what is present-day Stilwell in the early months of 1839 to distribute food and supplies to the newly arrived Indigenous people. Those with resources quickly left to settle across the rest 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, ...

, but the sickest and poorest stayed in the Stilwell area, close to the safety of the depot. The U.S. government opened the Stilwell area to American settlers in 1893. 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 ...

built a rail line through what is present-day Stilwell in 1896. The municipality developed because of the rail line and it was incorporated as a town on January 2, 1897. The town was named after

Arthur Stilwell Arthur Edward Stilwell (October 21, 1859 – September 26, 1928) was the founder of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad, predecessor to the Kansas City Southern Railway. He served as KCPG's president from 1897 to 1900. He was also t ...

, founder of the Kansas City Southern Railway. By the turn of the twentieth century, white settlers outnumbered the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

people. As early as 1901, Stilwell and Westville, in anticipation of Oklahoma statehood, vied for the role of county seat. When Adair County was formed in 1907, Westville was identified as the county seat, due partly to its location at the intersection of two major railroads: the Kansas City Southern Railway and the

St. Louis–San Francisco Railway The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway , commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to November 21, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated of road on of track, not includ ...

. After three intensely contested elections, however, Oklahoma governor Charles Haskell proclaimed Stilwell as the county seat on May 6, 1910. In 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(P.O.W.)

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

was established south of Stilwell. The camp housed 200

axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

soldiers. Stilwell was served by Kansas City Southern's ''Southern Belle'' passenger rail line until November 2, 1969. The rail line connected Stilwell with daily trains to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, with stops in

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozarks. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers, ...

, Joplin,

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

and many other cities in-between. A second passenger line, ''The Flying Crow'', also stopped in the town. The town's train station fell into disrepair due to vandalism and was closed on February 22, 1971. The station building itself was restored in 2004 though passenger rail service was not. During 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 ...

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

emerged a major crop and cornerstone of the local economy. In 1948, a

strawberry festival A strawberry festival is an event and celebration in many towns in North America. In most instances, areas around these towns are, or have been, deeply involved in the production and marketing of strawberries, and the festivals are usually held ...

was organized, and in 1949, the state governor and legislature proclaimed Stilwell as "Strawberry Capital of the World." Stilwell's strawberry festival became an annual event. Over time, the strawberry industry weakened, cultivated acreage decreased and the role of strawberries in the local economy dissipated. Despite this, Stilwell still holds a strawberry festival annually and the town's 2015 festival had approximately 30,000 people in attendance. Stilwell's 2022 strawberry festival featured the largest parade in its 75-year history with over 100 floats.

Geography

Stilwell is west of the

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 ...

state line and east of

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; , ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as p ...

. Stilwell is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 51. Sallisaw and Little Lee creeks are nearby. 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 (0.63%) is water.

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s are often felt in Stilwell due to oil and gas production activities in central Oklahoma. According to Jennifer Patterson,

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Adair County Extension Director, Stilwell is good for growing strawberries because of its rocky, acidic soil and good drainage. Below the ground in Stilwell lays chert rock, which breaks down into the soil and purportedly gives strawberries a unique taste.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 3,700 people residing in the city. The population of Stilwell is declining. The ethnic makeup of the Stilwell is 48.41%

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

, 41.88%

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 ...

, 0.49%

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 ...

, 0.21% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.45% from other races, and 5.53% 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 residents representing any race are 6.99% of the population. There were 1,269 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% 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, 17.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 36.2% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.21. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.0% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males. The population density was . There were 1,434 housing units at an average density of .

Economy

Stilwell's economy is characterized by high rates of poverty, low incomes and a low standard of living. Residents of Stilwell are among the poorest and most

impoverished Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

in the United States. 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 Stilwell is $12,872 per year, and

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 ...

is $31,637 per year, as of 2017. As of 2017, 37.2% of adults and 49.0% of children in Stilwell are living below the poverty line. Poverty in the town is increasing and 50.4% of residents do not have an internet subscription. Agriculture has been the mainstay of the local economy for a century. Strawberry farming was particularly successful during the

and

. At its peak, the town had about 2,000 acres of farmland devoted to strawberries. Over time, the role of strawberries diminished significantly and only seven strawberry farms remained as of 2022. Ranching became important around 1960 and the town's local industries were largely an outgrowth of agriculture. Employers included

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

, the Stilwell Canning Company and its successor, Mrs. Smith's Bakery/Stilwell Foods,

Industries, and Facet Industries. As of 2022, the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

in Stilwell is $7.25 per hour. For full-time students, tipped employees, farm workers, seasonal workers and people with disabilities, the minimum wage is $2.13 per hour.

Health

Scientists have suggested Stilwell's environment may be contaminated with unsafe levels of mercury, and as of 2021, studies are ongoing. Rainfall samples collected over a 13-year span at an air quality station near Stilwell found abnormally high levels of mercury. The study found an annual average mercury concentration of nearly 11 ng/L, about one and a half times higher than the national average. The

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is responsible for protecting human health and for safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. ...

warned residents against eating certain fish from Stilwell's city lake in 2019, furthering suspicion that the town's aquifer could be contaminated. Stilwell was labelled "the early death capital of the world" after a detailed report by the

National Center for Health Statistics The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people. It is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control ...

surfaced in 2018 indicating the life expectancy of the town's residents was just 56.3 years. The agency stated the report was their "most detailed local health data ever released" and the life expectancy of Stilwell residents was lower than that in every jurisdiction in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, with a similar life-expectancy to the poorest regions of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. The

disputed the report initially before further studies were done, stating the data "has to be flawed.” In February 2020, the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

stated they would soon release their own report increasing the town's life expectancy figure to 74 years. The CDC stated that the National Center for Health Statistics report was "flawed" because 90 deceased individuals with P.O. box addresses in Stilwell that lived outside city limits were included in the report, producing inaccurate data. Despite the correction, Stilwell's Roberts Reed Culver Funeral Home reports half of all funerals performed in 2018 were for people in their 50's and 60's. 16% of adults in Stilwell have

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, 27%

smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

, and 42% are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

, according to the

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) is a public medical school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It also has a branch campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Founded in 1972, OSU-CHS is part of the Oklahoma State University System. OSU-CHS of ...

. Health services include the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller Health Clinic, the Stilwell Memorial Hospital, the Oklahoma Department of Public Health, and the Stilwell Nursing Home. According to the

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, 28.5% of all residents, and 60% of those in Stilwell who are unemployed do not have

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

. Stilwell city council passed a

mask mandate During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95 respirator, N95, FFP standards#FFP2 mask, FFP2, surgical mask, surgical, and Cloth face mask, cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures ag ...

in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on July 8, 2020, taking advice from a local infectious disease specialist. Just 10 days later, city council struck down the mandate advising face masks would no longer required after receiving "extremely hostile" responses and threats against officials.

Education

Stilwell Public Schools provides education for children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. There is one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Technical and vocational studies beyond high school level are offered by the

Indian Capital Technology Center Technology Centers, in Oklahoma, are Career and Technical schools which provide career and technology education for high school students in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The students generally spend part of each day in their respective schools purs ...

campus in Stilwell. Stilwell was briefly served by the Flaming Rainbow University, a private, baccalaureate university between 1971 - 1989. Despite being dubbed a "non-traditional university", it obtained accreditation from the

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is the agency of the government of Oklahoma that serves as the governing body of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, which is the largest provider of higher education in the state of Ok ...

in 1974 and was accredited by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...

. According to its founder, David Hilligoss, the school was created to ''"Provide an education to'' ''Isolated Indians and rural whites in this beautifully treed and poverty stricken section of the state"''. The Flaming Rainbow University was named in honor of a

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

medicine man's vision, which featured a rainbow symbolizing knowledge and its power. The university lost all accreditation in 1989 and closed.

Government

Stilwell has a mayor-council form of government, with five members on the city council. City departments reporting to the mayor include the police department, volunteer fire department, sewer and garbage service, natural gas and electric service. As of 2021, the mayor of Stilwell is Jean Ann Wright. She was elected in 2019 and is the first Indigenous woman to hold the office. The town has voted staunchly Republican for over 45 years. 77.5% of voters in Stilwell voted for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the

2020 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

. After being de-funded and closed by the Oklahoma state government, Adair Park in Stilwell has since been acquired by the county government. The municipal government bans the sale of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

on Sundays, in addition to 7 holidays per year.

Crime

Stilwell has one of the highest crime rates in America, compared to communities of all sizes. The crime rate in Stilwell is 122% higher than the national average, and 71% higher than the state average. Violent crime has increased every year since 2009 and Stilwell has an incarceration rate higher than what's found in every other country in the world. The murder rate in Stilwell is 10 per 100,000 people, double the national average. In response to the town's high crime rate, Stilwell has a year-round

curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...

in place that prohibits people under the age of 18 from being in public past midnight. Three bombs were detonated in Stilwell on January 23, 2012. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI),

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(ATF),

Oklahoma Highway Patrol The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) is a major state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. A division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, the OHP has traffic enforcement jurisdiction throughout the state. OHP was legisla ...

, Adair County Sheriffs, and Stilwell city police investigated the explosions. The investigation concluded the explosions were intentional and were caused by pipe bombs. Approximately southeast of Stilwell is

Elohim City Elohim City''Elohim'' is a Hebrew word usually translated as "God", sometimes "Gods" because in Hebrew most plural masculine nouns end in ''–im''. (also known as Elohim City Inc. and Elohim Village) is a private community in Adair County, Ok ...

, an armed, evangelical,

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

compound with alleged ties to the

Oklahoma City Bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

. The enclave has ties to myriad criminal, terror and racist organizations, including the Aryan Resistance Movement. An

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

investigation from 2003 concluded that white supremacists from Elohim City played a “major role” in the bombing of the

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States federal government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 19, 1995, the building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McV ...

that killed 168 people. The

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

calls the compound “the meeting ground for America’s most sinister extremists”.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Airports

Painting Planes Airport is the primary

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport for Stilwell. It has a single runway and is located southwest of the town. The airport is in poor condition and lacks basic facilities such as a

wind cone A windsock (also known as wind cone or wind sleeve) is a conical textile tube that resembles a giant sock. It can be used as a basic indicator of wind speed and direction, or as decoration. Windsocks are typically used at airports to show the dir ...

. The runway's numbers and markings are faded and its surface is in disrepair with many cracks. The closest commercial service airport is

Northwest Arkansas National Airport Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Northwest Arkansas is a public-use airport located in Benton County, Arkansas, serving the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas region, northwest of Fayetteville and northwest of Springdale. Since its op ...

(often referred to by its

IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a unique three-letter geocode designating many airports, cities (with one or more airports) and metropolitan areas (citie ...

, XNA) and is located northwest of Stilwell, out of state.

Highways

Stilwell sits at the confluence of two highways, U.S. Highway 59 and

Oklahoma State Highway 51 State Highway 51, abbreviated to SH-51 or OK-51, is a major state highway in Oklahoma, United States. It runs for east–west across the state, running from the Texas state line to Arkansas. It is the third-longest state highway in the sys ...

Pedestrian and cycling

There are minimal pedestrian facilities in Stilwell. Almost all city streets do not have sidewalks, aside from a few of the oldest streets in the downtown area. Many of these sidewalks are in disrepair. There are no paved pathways outside parks and there is no

cycling infrastructure Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

in the town. Almost all errands require an

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

, according to

Walk Score Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...

, an online, independently calculated walkability index that, based on a number of metrics, provides a score on how walkable an area is.

Public transportation

There is a limited on-demand transit service in the town, privately operated by the KI BOIS Area Transit System. Though the service is open to the public, it is not widely used and its primary purpose is to provide low-cost rides to disadvantaged, elderly and impoverished Stilwell residents. There are no fixed bus routes, intercity buses or passenger rail services in Stilwell.

Railways

Stilwell is situated on the Kansas City Southern (KCS) main line, it runs north and south through the east end of the town.

NRHP Sites

Sites in Stilwell 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 ...

include: * The Adair County Courthouse, on Division Street * Golda's Mill; the ruins are 12 miles northwest * The KCS Railway Depot, off

US Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...

Notable people

* Sam Claphan, Cherokee, former football player for the Oklahoma Sooners and San Diego Chargers of the NFL. *

Frankie Hargis Frankie Darlene Hargis (July 19, 1965 – August 15, 2021) was a Cherokee politician who served as the registrar of the Cherokee Nation from 2018 to 2021. She was previously a member of the tribal council representing District 7 from 2011 to 2018. ...

(1965–2021), Cherokee Nation Registrar (2018–2021), Tribal Councilor (2011–2018) * Wanda Hatfield, Cherokee Nation tribal councilor (2015–2019) *

Wilma Mankiller Wilma Pearl Mankiller (; November 18, 1945April 6, 2010) was a Native American activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Tribal chief, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Tahlequah, Oklaho ...

, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. * Samuel Mayes, principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), serving from 1895 to 1899. *

Markwayne Mullin Markwayne Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American and Cherokee Nation, Cherokee businessman and politician who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023 ...

, Republican

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and multimillionaire.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Adair County, Oklahoma Cities in Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Cherokee towns in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1897 Stilwell, Oklahoma