Editing Fort Coffee, Oklahoma

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Fort Coffee, Oklahoma
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

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<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = OKMap-doton-FortCoffee.PNG
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|map_caption              = Location of Fort Coffee, Oklahoma
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<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Oklahoma]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Oklahoma|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Le Flore County, Oklahoma|Le Flore]]

<!-- Government -->
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|leader_title             = Mayor
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|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 16.91
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|area_water_km2           = 0.01
|area_total_sq_mi         = 6.53
|area_land_sq_mi          = 6.53
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<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 335
|population_density_km2   = 19.82
|population_density_sq_mi = 51.33
<!-- General information -->
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|coordinates              = {{coord|35|17|39|N|94|34|23|W|region:US-OK|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = 
|postal_code              = 
|area_code                = 
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 40-27150<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2412639<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412639}}</ref>
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'''Fort Coffee''' is a town in [[Le Flore County, Oklahoma|Le Flore County]], [[Oklahoma]], United States. Originally constructed as a U. S. Army fort in 1834, it was named for U. S. General John Coffee, a veteran of the Seminole Wars.<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO058 Dennis Peterson. "Fort Coffee."  ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Retrieved September 16, 2012.</ref> It is part of the [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]]-Oklahoma [[Fort Smith metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The population was 424 at the 2010 census, a gain of 2.9 percent over the figure of 412 in 2000.<ref>[http://censusviewer.com/city/OK/Fort%20Coffee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615161529/http://censusviewer.com/city/OK/Fort%20Coffee |date=June 15, 2013 }} CensusViewer:Fort Coffee, Oklahoma Population. Retrieved September 14, 2012.</ref>

==History==
The town of Fort Coffee traces its beginnings to 1832, when the Choctaw Indian tribe was removed from the southeastern United States and transported to land in the eastern part of [[Indian Territory]] (now in the state of Oklahoma). Most of the travel was by water, and the site of Fort Coffee became a port on the [[Arkansas River]].<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

In 1834, the Choctaw Nation petitioned the U.S. War Department to construct a fort that would stop the flow of alcohol and other illegal items from flowing into their territory along the Arkansas River. The garrison succeeded in its mission and also built roads connecting [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]], [[Fort Gibson]], and [[Fort Towson]]. The army abandoned Fort Coffee in 1838 when Fort Smith was reestablished. The site of Fort Coffee was located in [[Skullyville County, Choctaw Nation|Skullyville County]], a part of the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation]].<ref>Morris, John W. H''istorical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref>

In 1843, the Choctaw nation allowed the Methodist Episcopal church to establish the Fort Coffee Choctaw Boys Academy in the buildings. This school continued until the outbreak of the Civil War, when Confederate forces commanded by General [[Stand Watie]] occupied the site. The Union Army recaptured the fort in 1863. Most of the buildings were burned during this time. Several small houses were built using the foundation stones.<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

The Choctaw were required to release their slaves by the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866. Many of the freed men remained in the Choctaw Nation lands. Many of these were legally adopted into the Choctaw Nation in 1885, thus qualifying for land allotments by the Dawes Commission.<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

The local economy has largely been based on agriculture. Major crops included cotton, livestock and soybeans. There was a cotton gin in Fort Coffee to handle locally grown crops.  The Fort Smith and Western Railroad and the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railway (bought by the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]] in 1900) transported the products to outside markets.<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

The town of Fort Coffee did not incorporate until 1998.<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

==Geography==
Fort Coffee is located {{convert|6|miles|km}} northeast of [[Spiro, Oklahoma|Spiro]].<ref name= "EOHC-Fort Coffee"/>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|6.4|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|6.4|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.16% is water.

The town is just south of a bend of the [[Arkansas River]], downstream from the [[Robert S. Kerr Reservoir]], and north of [[U.S. Route 271#Oklahoma|U.S. Route 271]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Coffee,+OK+74959/@35.2941737,-94.7056969,11.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87ca5aa564293683:0x632dfed2d1f255c4!8m2!3d35.2892616!4d-94.584387 |title=Fort Coffee, Oklahoma|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref> about 11 miles from the Arkansas border.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/35.2919384,-94.434811/Fort+Coffee,+OK+74959/@35.2700083,-94.5960417,11.25z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x87ca5aa564293683:0x632dfed2d1f255c4!2m2!1d-94.584387!2d35.2892616 |title=US271 to Fort Coffee, Oklahoma|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2000= 412
|2010= 424
|2020= 335
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Fort Coffee town, Oklahoma – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Fort Coffee town, Oklahoma |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US4027150&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fort Coffee town, Oklahoma |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US4027150&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Fort Coffee town, Oklahoma |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US4027150&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|108
|92
|style='background: #ffffe6; |83
|26.21%
|21.70%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |24.78%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|259
|282
|style='background: #ffffe6; |173
|62.86%
|66.51%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |51.64%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|16
|18
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28
|3.88%
|4.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.36%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|0
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.94%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|29
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |44
|7.04%
|5.66%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.13%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|0
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|0.00%
|0.94%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.79%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''412'''
|'''424'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''335'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

===2000 census===
At the 2000 [[census]],<ref name="GR2" /> there were 412 people, 163 households and 109 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was {{convert|64.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 176 housing units at an average density of {{convert|27.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 26.21% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 62.86% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 3.88% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 7.04% from two or more races.

There were 163 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17.

Age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males.

The [[median household income]] was $26,827, and the median family income was $31,528. Males had a median income of $26,094 versus $22,344 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,039. About 25.6% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 36.9% of those under age 18 and 50.0% of those age 65 or over.

==Points of interest==
Despite the [[Spiro, Oklahoma]] mailing address, the [[Spiro Mounds]] and the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center are in Fort Coffee.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.7170#listing-menu-tabs |title= Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center |publisher=TravelOK.com|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Spiro+Mounds+Archaeological+Center/@35.2942544,-94.6037694,13.01z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87ca4549d94d1403:0x49b7fcb4b88c2da6!8m2!3d35.3117196!4d-94.5684295 |title= Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref>

[[W. D. Mayo Lock and Dam]], part of the  [[McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System]],
is just northeast of town,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.google.com/maps/place/W.D.+Mayo+Lock+and+Dam+Number+14,+Spiro,+OK+74959/@35.2970086,-94.5906243,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87ca4ff9ca520c47:0x1711a3ace0966abf!8m2!3d35.3145385!4d-94.5596638 |title= W. D. Mayo Lock and Dam Number 14|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref> while a boat ramp with access to the river above W. D. Mayo Lock and Dam is just north of town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Boat+Ramp+Above+WD+Mayo+Dam/@35.3081769,-94.6169393,12.53z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87ca455954e9afbd:0x70b8e2aa85697cad!8m2!3d35.3208456!4d-94.5673872 |title= Boat Ramp Above WD Mayo Dam|publisher=Google Maps|accessdate=September 16, 2020}}</ref>

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO058 ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Fort Coffee]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121024013411/http://www.library.okstate.edu/okmaps/ Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory]

{{Le Flore County, Oklahoma}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in LeFlore County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Fort Smith metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1834]]
[[Category:1834 establishments in Indian Territory]]