Editing Atoka County, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
[[File:AtokaCounty1909.jpg|thumb|250px|Map of Atoka County, 1909]]

The area forming Atoka County was part of the Choctaw Nation after the tribe was forced to relocate in the early 1830s to Indian Territory from its home in the Southeastern United States. Unlike the State of Oklahoma, whose county boundaries follow the precise north–south, east–west grid established with the state's township and range system, the Choctaw Nation established its internal divisions using easily recognizable landmarks, such as mountains and rivers, as borders. The territory of present-day Atoka County fell within the [[Pushmataha District]], one of the three administrative super-regions comprising the Choctaw Nation. Within that district, it was in parts of [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation|Atoka]], [[Blue County, Choctaw Nation|Blue]], and [[Jack's Fork County|Jack's Fork]] counties.

The Choctaw named their [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation|Atoka County]] in honor of Chief Atoka, a leader of a party that migrated from Georgia to Indian Territory; the name was retained when Oklahoma became a state.<ref name="EOHC-AtokaCounty">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AT005 James C. Milligan, "Atoka County." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. ]</ref>

In 1858, the [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] established a [[stagecoach]] route through the area. It carried passengers, US Mail, and some freight. One station, Waddell's, was near [[Wesley, Oklahoma|Wesley]]; a second station, Geary's, was between Waddell's and the [[Muddy Boggy Creek|Muddy Boggy River]], while a third was at Boggy Depot.<ref name="EOHC-AtokaCounty"/>

During the Civil War, Confederate troops established a supply depot named Camp Boggy Depot here. After the war, the town of Atoka was established. In 1872, the [[Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway]] (nicknamed the Christopher Casey) built a track through the county. It bypassed Boggy Depot and passed through Atoka; this access increased the importance of Atoka, but lack of the railroad contributed to the decline of Boggy Depot.<ref name="EOHC-AtokaCounty"/>

The economy of Atoka County has been largely built on coal mining, limestone quarrying, forestry, and agriculture. Cattle raising became the leading business in the mid-twentieth century. A major employer is the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Farm (renamed the Mack H. Alford Correctional Center), a medium-security prison that opened in 1933.<ref name="EOHC-AtokaCounty"/>