Editing Heavener, Oklahoma (section)

==History==
Joseph H. Heavener and some other white settlers arrived, secured permits to farm from the [[Choctaw|Chocktaw Indians]], and settled down to farm. In 1880, Zachary Taylor Ward and his Choctaw wife, Tabitha Hickman Ward, moved their store from [[Skullyville, Oklahoma|Skullyville]] to the present site of Heavener. Ward died in 1883, and his widow, Tabitha, married Heavener. The couple owned the land on which the town was established. Before being named Heavener by a popular vote in 1895, the area was known by several different names, including Prairie of the Tall Grass, Choctaw City, Prairie View, Long Prairie, and Grand Prairie.<ref name="EOHC-Heavener"/>

At the time of its founding, and through Oklahoma's statehood in 1907, Heavener was located in [[Sugar Loaf County, Choctaw Nation|Sugar Loaf County]], one of the counties making up the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma|Choctaw Nation]].<ref>Morris, ''John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref>

Suitable agricultural land around Heavener attracted many farmers as settlers. Other improvements soon followed. A cotton gin and a grist mill were built in the town in 1885. In 1896 the [[Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad]] built tracks through the town. A post office was established in a [[boxcar]] on May 12, 1896, while another boxcar became the train station. In 1900-1901 a predecessor of the [[Arkansas Western Railway|Arkansas Western Railroad]] constructed tracks from Heavener east into Arkansas.<ref name="EOHC-Heavener"/>

The [[Curtis Act]] allowed Heavener to incorporate in [[Indian Territory]] in 1898; Henry Moore was elected as the first mayor. The town population was 254 in 1900 when the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]] purchased the rail line. The company established a roundhouse in 1910, making Heavener a division point. By 1910, the population was 780, and continued increasing to 1,850 by 1920.<ref name="EOHC-Heavener"/>

Mining and timber came to the local economy in the 1930s. The 1930 census showed the population to be 2,269. The Burnett Lumber Company opened a sawmill in 1935. Then the population began declining: to 2,103 in 1950. Recovery began when the Heavener Charcoal Company began producing charcoal from its kilns in Heavener, shipping it to a plant in Arkansas. The 1970 census showed 2,566 residents in the town. However, the Burnett sawmill burned down in 1981.<ref name="EOHC-Heavener"/>

[[Poultry farming]] became an important activity in the late 20th century. OK Foods established a hatchery in 1986. In 1992, the company built a poultry processing plant, followed by a poultry feed mill in 1995.<ref name="EOHC-Heavener"/>