Editing Pushmataha County, Oklahoma (section)

==Economy==
Pushmataha County has always been separated economically from the rest of Oklahoma by what the economists call the "Ouachita barrier". The Kiamichi Mountains and the mountains to the north of them, all subranges of the Ouachita Mountains, cause commerce with points to their north to be difficult.  [[McAlester, Oklahoma]], instead of being a regional trading center for Pushmataha County, instead seems very remote from it.<ref>William T. Chambers, "Shopping Areas of the Near Southwest", ''Economic Geography'', April 1941, p. 128.</ref>

Natural resources have always been the lifeblood of Pushmataha County.

The county is one of the few in Oklahoma in which the [[petroleum industry]] does not, and has never had, a major presence drilling for oil. During recent years extraction companies have drilled successfully for natural gas, and this is increasingly common.

During the later days of the Indian Territory and early statehood [[Bitumen|asphalt]] was mined at two locations:  [[Jumbo, Oklahoma|Jumbo]] and [[Sardis, Oklahoma|Sardis]]. For a time these were economically successful, even at Jumbo, which experienced a catastrophic mine explosion in 1910 which killed numerous miners.

[[File:Choctaw Village by Francois Bernard.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Choctaw village, 1869, Peabody Museum Harvard University. The women are preparing dye to color cane strips for making baskets.]]

Timber is an economic mainstay. Lumber companies own large swaths of the county and operate vast tree plantations. Fast-growing [[pine trees]] are the timber of choice, and in many areas of the county a virtual [[monoculture]] of pine trees—at the expense of any other—has been established.

During the Twentieth Century a rapidly improving transportation network enabled Pushmataha County to advance economically. At this writing one federal highway and several state highways are in operation. In addition, the Indian Nation Turnpike, a four-lane turnpike constructed to national interstate highway standards, is in operation with interchanges at Antlers and Daisy.