Editing Coal County, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Coal County was formed at statehood from the former Shappaway County (later renamed [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation|Atoka County]]) of the [[Pushmataha District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation]] in [[Indian Territory]]. A {{convert|3.5|mi|km}} strip of Coal County was taken from the [[Pontotoc District]] of the [[Chickasaw Nation]]. Initially, the Oklahoma legislature named [[Lehigh, Oklahoma|Lehigh]] as the county seat, but a special election held in 1908 resulted in the citizens choosing Coalgate as the county seat. Lehigh tried to sue because more people voted than were registered, but no court would hear the case.<ref name="EOHC-CoalCo">Milligan, James C. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CO002 "Coal County,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Accessed March 28, 2015.</ref>

Mining became a mainstay of the county's economy during the 1870s. The first coal mine opened on Chief Allen Wright's land. The industry activity peaked between 1910 and 1916 but declined sharply after World War I. Many of the mines closed by 1921, due to the refusal of mining companies of the area to unionize. Some mines reopened during World War II, but these closed by 1958, because of the rising cost of refining sulfur out of the coal mined.<ref name="EOHC-CoalCo"/>

Agriculture replaced mining as the main economic activity of the county. Even this business encountered severe difficulty in 1921–1923 when a [[boll weevil]] infestation wiped out the cotton crop. All five banks in the county failed as a result.<ref name="OTC">[http://www.tax.ok.gov/advform/avfMarch10.pdf "Focus on Coal County."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012185004/http://www.tax.ok.gov/advform/avfMarch10.pdf |date=October 12, 2010 }} Oklahoma Ad Valorem Forum. Oklahoma Tax Commission. March 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2010.</ref>