McCurtain County, Oklahoma

McCurtain County is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,814.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Idabel.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo">Coleman, Louis. "McCurtain County", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.</ref> The name honors an influential Choctaw family who lived in the area. Jackson McCurtain and Edmund McCurtain served in the Confederate Army before their terms as chief, while Green McCurtain was the last chief when Oklahoma became a state in 1907.<ref name="COO-Countynames">"Origin of County Names in Oklahoma". In: Chronicles of Oklahoma. Volume 2, Number 1. March, 1924. Template:Webarchive Retrieved February 14, 2014.</ref>

History

File:McCurtain County National Bank, Idabel, OK IMG 8510.JPG

McCurtain County National Bank in Broken Bow, Oklahoma

The area now included in McCurtain County was part of the Choctaw Nation before Oklahoma became a state. The territory of the present-day county fell within the Apukshunnubbee District, one of three administrative superregions comprising the Choctaw Nation, and was divided among six of its counties: Bok Tuklo, Cedar, Eagle, Nashoba, Red River, and Towson.<ref>Morris, John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref> In the 1820s, it was a major part of Miller County, Arkansas Territory.

The area was sparsely populated, with no roads or bridges and no towns. Post offices were established at small trading posts along the various trails. Towns began to form when the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) was built across the area in 1902. Between 1910 and 1921, the Choctaw Lumber Company laid tracks for the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad from Valliant, Oklahoma, to DeQueen, Arkansas. These roads still served the area at the beginning of the 21st century.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo" />

Initially, the county experienced difficulty functioning because of lack of funds. When the Choctaws accepted their land allotments, their homesteads were not taxable for 21 years. No roads were built until a decade after statehood. With no bridges, ferries carried people and vehicles across the major streams.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/>

Beavers Bend State Park was opened in 1937, establishing the region as a tourism destination due to the variety of recreational activities it offers.

On April 2, 1982, the county was struck by an F5 tornado.<ref>"National Weather Service".</ref>

Death of Henry Lee Johnson

Henry Lee Johnson was a 15-year-old boy who was murdered in 1980 in Idabel after entering the parking lot of the Black Hat Club, a "whites-only club". His murder resulted in a riot in Idabel that left two more men dead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2023 audio recording scandal

In April 2023, the McCurtain Gazette-News released audio recordings of discussions among local officials about hiring a hit man to murder the paper's publisher and a reporter, Chris Willingham, and lamenting that lynching Black people was no longer acceptable. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said that he was "both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County". Stitt called for the local officials to resign, including "McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Over 100 people gathered outside the county courthouse calling on the officials to resign.<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/>

In response, the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Facebook reading:

Jennings resigned on AprilTemplate:Nbsp19.<ref name="ap-murphy-23">Template:Cite news</ref> The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident.<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/> Willingham also filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Manning "told a third party during a teleconference that Chris Willingham exchanged marijuana for sexually explicit images of children from a man who had been arrested on child sex-abuse image charges".<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/>

On June 18, 2024, Clardy lost his bid for reelection, placing third in the Republican primary with 18.26% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

File:McCurtainCounty1909.jpg

Map of McCurtain County, 1909

File:Broken-bow-spillway.jpg

Spillway at Broken Bow Lake

McCurtain County's location in southeastern Oklahoma places it within a 10-county area designated for tourism purposes by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as Choctaw Country.<ref name="Department">Template:Cite web</ref> According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (2.8%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

It is the third-largest county in Oklahoma by area.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/> The terrain of McCurtain County varies from the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains in the northern part of the county to the rich Red River bottoms of the southern part. Sections of the Mountain Fork and Little River drainages lie in McCurtain County. The Glover River originates in McCurtain County and flows Template:Convert to its confluence with the Little River southeast of Wright City. Broken Bow Lake was created in 1968 by damming the Mountain Fork River; the river is one of the state's two year-round trout fisheries. The lowest point in the state of Oklahoma is on the Little River in McCurtain County, where it flows out of Oklahoma and into Arkansas.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/> McCurtain County is the only documented part of Oklahoma, together with Choctaw County, within the natural range of the American alligator.<ref name="ecology">Template:Cite web</ref>

The county also contains the McCurtain County Wilderness Area, a 14,087-acre tract created in 1918 and managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the Little River National Wildlife Refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.<ref>"McCurtain County Wilderness Area." McCurtain County Tourism Authority. 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2013.</ref>

The county contains the location (Smithville) with the highest annual average precipitation in the state, at 55.71 inches.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:US 70.svg U.S. Highway 70
• File:US 259.svg U.S. Highway 259
• File:Oklahoma State Highway 3.svg State Highway 3
• File:Oklahoma State Highway 4.svg State Highway 4
• File:Oklahoma State Highway 37.svg State Highway 37
• File:Oklahoma State Highway 87.svg State Highway 87
• File:Oklahoma State Highway 98.svg State Highway 98

Adjacent counties

• Le Flore County (north)
• Polk County, Arkansas (northeast)
• Sevier County, Arkansas (east)
• Little River County, Arkansas (southeast)
• Bowie County, Texas (south)
• Red River County, Texas (southwest)
• Choctaw County (west)
• Pushmataha County (northwest)

National protected areas

• Little River National Wildlife Refuge
• Ouachita National Forest (part)

Demographics

At the 2000 census, 34,402 people, 13,216 households, and 9,541 families lived in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 15,427 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makup of the county was 70.54% White, 13.57% Native American, 9.30% Black or African American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races, and 5.02% from two or more races; 3.09%<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> were Hispanic or Latino of any race, while 28.6% were of American, 7.6% Irish, and 5.9% English ancestry. Of the inhabitants, 94.4% spoke English, 2.9% Spanish, and 2.6% Choctaw as their first language. By 2020, its population declined to 30,814.<ref name="QF" />

Of the 13,216 households, 34.0% had children under 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were not families. Of households, 25.4% were one person and 11.0% were one person 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.06.

The age distribution was 28.2% under 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median household income was $24,162 and the median family income was $29,933. Males had a median income of $26,528 versus $17,869 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,693. About 21.0% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.4% of those under 18 and 21.2% of those 65 or over.

Politics

McCurtain County is home to a significant Native American population and had a Democratic registration advantage well into the 2010s, but has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in the 21st century. The rightward shift has continued to increase, with the vote shares of Republican presidential nominees increasing in every election since 2000, winning well over 70% of the vote during the Obama era and topping out with 83.8% for Donald Trump in 2024.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January August 31, 2023<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Republican	8,953	54.46%
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	5,491	33.40%
Template:Party color cell	Independent	1,913	11.64%
Template:Party color cell	Libertarian	83	0.50%
Total		16,440	100%

Economy

Agriculture and forestry have dominated the county's economy. The dense forests that originally covered the area were cleared and processed within two decades after statehood. The cleared lands then became subsistence farms. Cotton was the main money crop, until the cotton market collapsed during the Great Depression. Cattle raising, as well as production of swine and poultry, replaced cotton farming in importance. Cotton farms in the Red River Valley began raising grains and forage, instead.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/>

Natural reseeding and active reforestation projects, both public and private, have replenished much of the harvested forest area. This revitalized the timber industry, which is again important to the county economy.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/> Limestone, sand and gravel are extracted for extensive local use.<ref name="EOHC-McCurtainCo"/>

Communities

Cities

• Broken Bow
• Idabel (county seat)

Towns

• Garvin
• Haworth
• Hochatown
• Millerton
• Smithville
• Valliant
• Wright City

Census-designated place

• Eagletown
• Golden

Other unincorporated communities

• Battiest
• Bethel
• Bokhoma
• Clebit
• Glover
• Pickens
• Ringold
• Rufe
• Sherwood
• Tom
• Watson

Education

K-12 school districts include:<ref name=2020SDMap>Template:Cite map - Text list</ref> Template:Div col

• Battiest Public Schools
• Broken Bow Public Schools
• Eagletown Public Schools
• Haworth Public Schools
• Idabel Public Schools
• Smithville Public Schools
• Valliant Public Schools
• Wright City Public Schools

Elementary school districts include:<ref name=2020SDMap/> Template:Div col

• Denison Public School
• Forest Grove Public School
• Glover Public School
• Holly Creek Public School
• Lukfata Public School

There was formerly a Watson Public School school district. In 2010 the district ceased operations and consolidated into Smithville Public Schools.<ref name="bellclosure">Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable people

• Harry Rossoll, creator of Smokey Bear and artist for the Forest Heritage Center diorama exhibits

See also

• List of U.S. counties named after prominent Confederate historical figures
• National Register of Historic Places listings in McCurtain County, Oklahoma

External links

• McCurtain County Tourism Authority
• McCurtain County OSU Extension Center
• Beavers Bend Cabins near Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend State Park
• Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory