Editing Boswell, Oklahoma (section)

== History ==
The Boswell area was one of the Choctaw Nation's first and most important settlements.  A Presbyterian missionary station was founded at [[Mayhew, Indian Territory]], three miles north of present-day Boswell in the 1840s.  It soon became a government center as well as seat of civilization.  Mayhew became the administrative and judicial capital of the [[Pushmataha District]], one of three administrative super-regions comprising the  Choctaw Nation.<ref>More information about Mayhew and its role in the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma|Choctaw Nation]] political landscape is available in John Morris' ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' and Angie Debo's Rise and ''Fall of the Choctaw Republic''.</ref>

Mayhew was located in [[Blue County, Choctaw Nation|Blue County]], one of the counties comprising the Pushmataha District.  In 1886 portions of Blue County, including Mayhew, were joined with parts of adjacent counties to form [[Jackson County, Choctaw Nation|Jackson County]].  The new county's seat of government was at Pigeon Roost, south of Boswell.

A [[United States Post Office]] was established at Mayhew, Indian Territory on February 5, 1845, and operated until September 30, 1902.  It then moved two miles south to Boswell, which was then a new townsite along the new railroad, and changed its name to Boswell.

Boswell was named for S.C. Boswell, a local merchant.<ref>George H. Shirk, ''Oklahoma Place Names'', p. 27</ref>