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==History== Atoka was founded by the Choctaw Indians in the 1850s,<ref name="EOHC-Atoka">Maine, Priscilla A. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AT003 "Atoka,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' Oklahoma Historical Society. Accessed September 1, 2015.</ref> and named for Captain Atoka, a leader of the [[Choctaw Nation]] and the signatory of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which began the process of re-locating the Choctaw people from [[Mississippi]] to [[Oklahoma]] in 1830. The name "Atoka" is derived from the Choctaw word ''{{lang|cho|hitoka}}'' (or ''{{lang|cho|hetoka}}''), which means "ball ground" in English.<ref name="COO-Atoka">[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v008/v008p315.html Wright, Muriel H. "Organization of Counties in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208020338/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v008/v008p315.html |date=2006-12-08 }} In: ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''.Volume 8, Number 3. (September 1930.) Retrieved August 2, 2013.</ref> He is believed to be buried near the town of [[Farris, Oklahoma|Farris]]. Atoka is the site of the oldest [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] parish in the [[Indian Territory]], the oldest chapter of the [[Freemasons]] in Oklahoma, and the oldest chapter of the [[Order of the Eastern Star]] in Oklahoma. ===Battle of Middle Boggy Depot=== {{Main|Battle of Middle Boggy Depot}} A small [[American Civil War|Civil War]] confrontation occurred on February 13, 1864, north of Atoka. Early in 1864, Colonel William A. Philips set out with some 1,500 [[Union Army|Union]] troops from [[Fort Gibson]], Oklahoma, to cut a swath through [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Their purpose was to break Confederate control over the Indian Territory and gain the support and possibly recruits from the Native Americans. <blockquote> "I take you with me to clean out the Indian Nation south of the river and drive away and destroy rebels. Let me say a few words to you that you are not to forget .... Those who are still in arms are rebels, who ought to die. Do not kill a prisoner after he has surrendered. But I do not ask you to take prisoners. I ask you to make your footsteps severe and terrible. [[Muscogee people|Muskogees]]! (Creeks) the time has now come when you are to remember the authors of all your sufferings; those who started a needless and wicked war .... Stand by me faithfully and we will soon have peace ...." -- Colonel William A. Philips, to his men before beginning the campaign </blockquote> Along the way, Colonel Phillips sent out an advance of about 350 men toward Boggy Depot, a large Confederate supply base located on the Texas Road with the intention of capturing the outpost. While en route, his command encountered a small Confederate camp on the banks of the Middle Boggy River, made up of around 90 Confederate soldiers. In the ensuing skirmish 47 Confederate soldiers were killed. Among the dead were those wounded who had been left behind when their comrades retreated. They were found on the battlefield with their throats slashed. There were no Union deaths as a result of the battle. The Confederate Museum in Atoka (since 2016 the Atoka Museum) commemorates this battle.<ref name="EOHC-Atoka"/> ===Founding=== [[Image:Old Atoka.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|An early, turn-of-the-century photograph of Court Street in Atoka]] Though the [[Choctaw]] Indians had inhabited the area since the 1830s with a small town located near the city today, the city was officially founded by a [[Baptist]] missionary named J.S. Murrow in 1867 and quickly supplanted the dying town of [[Boggy Depot, Oklahoma|Boggy Depot]] as the chief city in [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation]], a territorial-era county which included portions of today's Atoka, Coal, Hughes and Pittsburg counties. A main contributing factor in the early growth of Atoka was the [[MKT Railroad]], which came through the area in 1872. The railroad provided the economic lifeblood to Atoka that any isolated rural town needs to survive and flourish. Many businesses quickly moved to Atoka from Boggy Depot.<ref name="EOHC-Atoka"/> Also in 1872, Father Michael Smyth founded St. Patrick's Catholic Church. This was the first Roman Catholic church in what became the state of Oklahoma.<ref name="EOHC-Atoka"/> On October 12, 1875, the Sacred Heart Mission, what later became [[St. Gregory's University]], was founded in Atoka by the Benedictine monks Father Isidore Robot, O.S.B., and Brother Dominic Lambert, O.S.B.<ref>[http://www.konawa.k12.ok.us/community/sacred_heart/sacred_heart_mission.html Sacred Heart Mission, Konawa Public Schools] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107071806/http://www.konawa.k12.ok.us/community/sacred_heart/sacred_heart_mission.html |date=2006-11-07 }}</ref> In 1876, the mission relocated to near [[Konawa, Oklahoma]] and became an [[abbey]]. About 1896, [[Robert L. Williams]], who would become the third [[Governor of Oklahoma]] and first [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Oklahoma Supreme Court]], moved to Atoka (then a part of the old [[Indian Territory]]) from [[Troy, Alabama]]. In 1898, land allotments were implemented and town lots were sold, as required by the Dawes Commission.<ref name="EOHC-Atoka"/> ===Recent developments=== Despite being strategically located at the intersection of two major highways (especially U.S. 69, a major transportation artery in the region), Atoka is struggling to create a town attractive to both new business and new residents. Even though the town has experienced an economic upturn in the past few years, it still lacks the main thing that ensures economic prosperity and attracts new residents: well-paying jobs.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} However, there is a beacon of hope for Atoka in the future. For the past several years, economic growth has been steadily moving northward along [[U.S. 75]] from [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]. Two towns located to the south of Atoka, [[Durant, Oklahoma]], and [[Sherman, Texas]], are experiencing tremendous economic and population growth. As this wave of development gradually moves north, the next town in line is the city of Atoka. If the growth continues, it is possible that Atoka could begin to see the type of expansion currently underway across the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] to the south. In 2023, [[Reba McEntire]] partnered with the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma|Choctaw Nation]] and the city of Atoka to open a restaurant called ''Reba's Place'' in downtown Atoka. The restaurant has increased tourism in the Atoka area and is helping to spark economic growth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inspiring America: Singer Reba McEntire on helping to restore her hometown with new venture |url=https://www.today.com/video/inspiring-america-singer-reba-mcentire-on-helping-to-restore-her-hometown-with-new-venture-181753925842 |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> ===NRHP sites=== {{Main|National Register of Historic Places listings in Atoka County, Oklahoma}} Twelve of the seventeen current [[National Register of Historic Places]] sites in Atoka County are in the city of Atoka: {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Atoka Armory * [[Boggy Depot, Oklahoma|Boggy Depot Site]] * [[First Methodist Church Building (Atoka, Oklahoma)|First Methodist Church Building]] * Indian Citizen Building * [[Masonic Temple (Atoka, Oklahoma)|Masonic Temple]] * [[Battle of Middle Boggy Depot#Cemetery| Middle Boggy Battlefield Site and Confederate Cemetery]] * Old Atoka County Courthouse * Old Atoka State Bank * Pioneer Club * Joe Ralls House * Captain James S. Standley House * Zweigel Hardware Store Building {{div col end}}
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