Tamaha, Oklahoma
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Tamaha is a town in Haskell 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 152 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Tamaha is a Choctaw word meaning "town."Hyder, Glenn O. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Tamaha." Retrieved August 25, 201

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Geography

Tamaha is located on the banks 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 ...
, north northeast of Stigler and south of Vian. 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.


History

Tamaha began as a riverboat landing on the Arkansas River in the 1830s. Initially, the community was called Pleasant Bluff, after a nearby geographic feature. During the Civil War, the Union steamer, ''J. R. Williams'', had carried supplies for the Union army between
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 Fort Gibson in Indian Territory. On June 15, 1864, Confederate forces under Colonel
Stand Watie Brigadier-General Stand Watie (; December 12, 1806September 9, 1871), also known as Standhope Uwatie and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866. The Cherokee ...
attacked with cannon and small arms fire as the ship negotiated a bend at Pleasant Bluff. The ship was crippled and ran aground, where the Confederates captured it. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the rusted skeleton of the steamer remains where it was grounded. At the time of its founding, Tamaha was located in 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 ...
. The town grew slowly after the Civil War. The name changed to Tamaha in 1884, when a post office was established. It had a population of 237 in 1900, increasing to 501 in 1920. However, riverboat traffic, the major source of business, ceased in 1912, Two fires, one in 1919 and the other in 1930, destroyed much of the town. The population fell to 202 in 1930 and declined to its historic low of 80 in 1960. Most of the former residents moved to the nearby town of Stigler. The post office closed in 1954. In the 21st century, the main source of business is travel by vacationers, attracted by the nearby
Robert S. Kerr Reservoir Robert S. Kerr Reservoir is located within the Cookson Hills, on the Arkansas River in Sequoyah, Le Flore, Haskell, and Muskogee counties in eastern Oklahoma, US. It is about eight miles south of the nearest major town, Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The ...
. The only physical link to the town's past is the Tamaha Jail and Ferry Landing, included on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Haskell County, Oklahoma (NR 80003266).


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 198 people, 73 households, and 54 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 109 housing units at an average density of 17.0 per square mile (6.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 84.34%
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 ...
, 8.59% Native American, and 7.07% from two or more races. There were 73 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.16. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,250, and the median income for a family was $35,938. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $16,563 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 $11,628. About 4.3% of families and 8.9% 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 none of those under the age of eighteen and 22.6% of those 65 or over.


In popular culture

Tamaha is the setting for the 2024
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
television miniseries ''
Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
'', although actual filming took place in Georgia.


References


External links


Tamaha, Haskell County Independent News
{{authority control Towns in Haskell County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma