Editing Poteau, Oklahoma

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Poteau, Oklahoma
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = LeFlore County Courthouse.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = The LeFlore County Courthouse is one of five sites in Poteau listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Le Flore County, Oklahoma|National Register of Historic Places]]
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = OKMap-doton-Poteau.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Poteau, Oklahoma
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- 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 -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 74.40
|area_land_km2            = 68.91
|area_water_km2           = 5.49
|area_total_sq_mi         = 28.73
|area_land_sq_mi          = 26.61
|area_water_sq_mi         = 2.12

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes        = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 8807
|population_density_km2   = 127.80
|population_density_sq_mi = 331.00

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 446
|coordinates              =  
{{coord|34|59|48|N|94|37|22|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 74953
|area_code                = [[area codes 539 and 918|539/918]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 40-60350<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2411476<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2411476}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|www.poteau-ok.com}}
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Poteau''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|oʊ|t|oʊ}} {{respell|POH|toh}}) is a city in, and [[county seat]] of, [[LeFlore County, Oklahoma]], United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> Its population was 8,520 as of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2014-08-29}}</ref>

==History==
In 1719, [[Bernard de la Harpe]] led a group of French explorers through this area, and gave the river its present name. The present-day city was founded in 1885, its name derived from the nearby [[Poteau River]].<ref name="PoteauC">{{cite web|url=http://www.poteau-ok.com/history.html|title=History|publisher=City of Poteau, Oklahoma|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> During the late 1700s, a large French outpost was at Belle Point (Ft. Smith). Further up the Poteau River was a secondary post at the base of Cavanal Mountain. Because of this, the river was named the "Post River", or Poteau River, and the outpost was simply called the post, or "Poteau".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Birth of Poteau|last=Standridge|first=Eric|publisher=Standridge and Shaw Publishing|date=June 20, 2012|isbn=978-1477603475|pages=15}}</ref> ''Poteau'' is a French word meaning post.<ref name="EOHC-Poteau">[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PO025 Harold Crain, "Poteau," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Accessed March 20, 2015.</ref>

The Poteau Chamber of Commerce has written that the community was founded in 1885 as a few houses and Bud Tate's general store. At the time of its founding, Poteau was in [[Sugar Loaf County, Choctaw Nation|Sugar Loaf County]], a part of the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation]].<ref>Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.</ref> It was incorporated as a town in the [[Indian Territory]] by the federal government on October 8, 1898. The first stone public building, a school, was built in the same year.<ref name="PoteauC"/>

The Fort Smith and Southern Railway built a rail line through the Poteau area in 1886–1887, en route to [[Paris, Texas]], including a station within the city. The Poteau post office opened in 1887 and the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (acquired by the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]] in 1900) began serving the town in 1896.<ref name="EOHC-Poteau"/>

In 1900, the Federal Court of Indian Territory was moved from Cameron, Oklahoma, to Poteau. The ''Poteau News'' was first published in 1905. Other modern improvements during the run-up to statehood included: The Bank of Poteau in 1901 (which became a national bank in 1904), and the First Bank of Poteau in 1904. {{efn|Together, the two banks had deposits estimated at $50,000 each.<ref name="EOHC-Poteau"/>}} A telephone company franchise was granted in 1904, and an electric utility and waterworks system was begun in 1906.<ref name="PoteauC"/>

After statehood, Governor [[Charles N. Haskell]] declared Poteau as a "... city of the first class."<ref name="PoteauC"/>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|31.7|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|3.0|sqmi}}, or 9.54%, are covered by water. It is about {{convert|12|miles|km}} west of the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.<ref name="EOHC-Poteau"/>

The city is located in the valley below [[Cavanal Hill]], dubbed the "World's Highest Hill" with a signed elevation of {{convert|1999|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.poteauchamber.com/cavanalhill |title= Cavanal Hill |publisher= Poteau Chamber of Commerce (Poteau, OK) |access-date= August 6, 2020 |archive-date= September 11, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210911094251/https://www.poteauchamber.com/cavanalhill |url-status= dead }}</ref> The location was a subject of extensive coal mining in the first half of the 20th century, and a railway, eventually called the [[Poteau and Cavanal Mountain Railroad]], served the mines.<ref name=OHS1>{{cite web|url= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=LE007 |title=Le Flore County|publisher=Larry O’Dell, Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=November 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= 
http://www.zeugmatic.com/travel/seoklahoma/cavanalhill.htm |title= Cavanal Hill|publisher=zeugmatic.com, December 20, 2012|accessdate=November 16, 2021}}</ref>  The summit elevation of the hill is {{convert|2385|ft}} above sea level,<ref name=gnis2>{{GNIS|1091046|name=Cavanal Mountain}}</ref> while the hill rises {{convert|1960|ft}} above the Poteau River on the east side of Poteau.<ref>U.S. Geological Survey Poteau West 7.5 minute quadrangle</ref>

=== Climate ===
Poteau is tied with several other towns for the highest recorded temperature in the state of Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes/scec/records|title=State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) {{!}} Extremes {{!}} National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)|last=Enloe|website=www.ncdc.noaa.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-04-11}}</ref>
{{Weather box|Jan record high F=84|Feb record high F=85|Mar record high F=92|Apr record high F=95|May record high F=100|Jun record high F=110|Jul record high F=113|Aug record high F=120|Sep record high F=110|Oct record high F=101|Nov record high F=88|Dec record high F=83|Jan high F=52.5|Feb high F=57.0|Mar high F=65.1|Apr high F=75.0|May high F=81.7|Jun high F=89.7|Jul high F=95.3|Aug high F=95.3|Sep high F=88.2|Oct high F=78.1|Nov high F=64.5|Dec high F=55.4|Jan low F=29.4|Feb low F=33.5|Mar low F=41.2|Apr low F=50.7|May low F=58.3|Jun low F=66.5|Jul low F=70.4|Aug low F=69.6|Sep low F=62.2|Oct low F=51.1|Nov low F=39.8|Dec low F=32.8|Jan record low F=-7|Feb record low F=-7|Mar record low F=7|Apr record low F=21|May record low F=34|Jun record low F=46|Jul record low F=49|Aug record low F=49|Sep record low F=33|Oct record low F=23|Nov record low F=10|Dec record low F=-6|Jan precipitation inch=2.52|Feb precipitation inch=3.02|Mar precipitation inch=3.65|Apr precipitation inch=4.63|May precipitation inch=5.89|Jun precipitation inch=3.89|Jul precipitation inch=3.42|Aug precipitation inch=3.00|Sep precipitation inch=3.84|Oct precipitation inch=3.53|Nov precipitation inch=3.73|Dec precipitation inch=3.02|Jan snow inch=2.1|Feb snow inch=2.3|Mar snow inch=0.3|Apr snow inch=0|May snow inch=0|Jun snow inch=0|Jul snow inch=0|Aug snow inch=0|Sep snow inch=0|Oct snow inch=0|Nov snow inch=0.1|Dec snow inch=0.6|single line=Y|source=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ok7246|location=Poteau, OK|precipitation colour=green}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 1182
|1910= 1830
|1920= 2679
|1930= 3169
|1940= 4020
|1950= 4776
|1960= 4428
|1970= 5500
|1980= 7089
|1990= 7210
|2000= 7939
|2010= 8520
|2020= 8807
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=United States Census Bureau|author-link=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 28, 2014}}</ref><br>2014 Estimate<ref name="2014 Pop Estimate">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2014/SUB-EST2014-3.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 30, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522132816/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2014/SUB-EST2014-3.html|archive-date=May 22, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Poteau Racial Composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4060350&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-07|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
![[Race (U.S. Census)|Race]]
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|White
|5,407
|61.39%
|-
|Black or African American
|102
|1.16%
|-
|Native American
|1,137
|12.91%
|-
|Asian
|82
|0.93%
|-
|Pacific Islander
|17
|0.19%
|-
|[[Multiracial American|Other/mixed]]
|882
|10.01%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino
|1,180
|13.4%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]],  8,807 people, 3,199 households, and 2,224 families were residing in the city.

===2000 census===
As of the 2000 [[census]],<ref name="GR2" /> 7,939 people, 3,013 households, and 2,042 families were livng in the city. The population density was {{convert|277.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 3,351 housing units had an average density of {{convert|117.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The [[Race (United States Census)|racial makeup]] of the city was 82.14% White, 2.24% African American, 10.00% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.39% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.82% of the population.

Of the 3,013 households, 31.6% had children under 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were not families. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the age distribution was 24.6% under 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,178, and for a family was $31,226. Males had a median income of $24,595 versus $20,625 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,175. About 19.3% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 31.8% of those under 18 and 13.4% of those 65 or over.

==Parks and recreation==
[[Twyman Park]] offers picnic tables and shelters, a playground, tennis courts, a small pond, and a pool.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.poteauchamber.com/twyman|title=Twyman Park & Pool|publisher=Poteau Chamber of Commercde|access-date=July 13, 2020|archive-date=July 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713223223/https://www.poteauchamber.com/twyman|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other City facilities include the Poteau Area Recreational Complex for sports events,<ref>{{cite web|url=  http://parcball.com/ |title=Thank you for visiting the PARC|publisher=PARCball.com|access-date=July 13, 2020}}</ref> as well as Bill J. Barber Park and Dunbar Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.poteau-ok.com/departments/parks.php |title=Poteau Parks|publisher=Poteau, Oklahoma|access-date=July 13, 2020}}</ref>

[[Lake Wister]] and the [[Lake Wister State Park]] are located in Poteau.

==Government==
Poteau has a mayor-council type of city government, with eight members on the council. The mayor and council members are elected by the citizens to four-year terms. The city police department consists of a chief, elected by citizen voters, and 12 officers who report to the chief. The city has an all-volunteer fire department, which has a fire chief, an assistant chief, captain, and 13 firemen.<ref name="PoteauC"/>

==Education==
The Poteau Public School System includes Poteau Primary School, Poteau Upper Elementary School, Pansy Kidd Middle School, the Seventh and Eighth Grade Center, and Poteau Senior High School.<ref>[http://www.poteau.k12.ok.us/index.php "Welcome to Poteau Public Schools,"] ''Poteau Public Schools'', accessed March 25, 2015.</ref> Pansy Kidd Middle School is named in honor of Pansy Ingle Kidd (1890–1978), who taught in Poteau for over 40 years and was nicknamed the "Dean of Poteau's Teachers".<ref name=pkms>{{cite web 
|url=http://www.pkms.poteau.k12.ok.us/ellisn/library12.htm 
|title= History of Our School |publisher=Pansy Kidd Middle School 
|access-date=2008-09-20}}</ref>

In 1955, Dr. John Montgomery, a Black veterinarian, petitioned the Poteau Public School Board to eliminate the racial segregation of its schools.<ref name="Curtis-2007">Curtis, Gene. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/only-in-oklahoma-vet-brought-desegregation-to-little-dixie/article_cb860fca-01d1-5280-9fc2-d440268424e9.html "Only in Oklahoma: Vet brought desegregation to 'Little Dixie',"] ''Tulsa World'', October 7, 2007. Accessed March 25, 2015.</ref> The board approved his petition, resulting in the integration of the school system and marking Poteau as the first city in Oklahoma to allow African Americans to learn alongside White students in its primary and secondary schools.<ref name="Curtis-2007"/>

[[Carl Albert State College]], formerly known as Poteau Junior College, is one of the 13 [[Community college|state colleges]] found in Oklahoma.

[[Kiamichi Technology Center]], the largest division of the [[Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education|Oklahoma CareerTech System]] has a branch location in Poteau.

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
Poteau is served by [[US Route 59|US Routes 59]], [[US Route 270|270]], and [[US Route 271|271]], as well as [[Oklahoma State Highway 83|State Highways 83]] and [[Oklahoma State Highway 112|112]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Poteau,+OK/@35.0519731,-94.7982732,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x87caf69526c2b919:0x84fe0447053511cd!8m2!3d35.0537094!4d-94.6235579 |title=Poteau, Oklahoma|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=January 12, 2021}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Kerr Airport]] (KRKR; FAA ID: RKR), about 2 miles south of town, has a 4007 x 75 ft paved runway.<ref name=AirNav>{{cite web|url=http://www.airnav.com/airport/krkr |title= Robert S. Kerr Airport |publisher=AirNav.com|access-date=January 12, 2021}}</ref>

===Police===
The LeFlore County Sheriff's office in Poteau has six highway patrol officers and an inspector.<ref name="PoteauC"/>

==Notable people==
* [[Rilla Askew]], writer
* [[Roberta Bell]], artist
* [[Jackson Burns]], actor, writer, producer and stunt coordinator
* [[Kenneth Corn]], former [[Oklahoma Senate|Oklahoma state senator]] and [[Oklahoma House of Representatives|Oklahoma state representative]]
* [[Ron Fortner]], radio and television anchor
* [[Argus Hamilton]], comedian and national columnist
* [[Billy Hoffman (singer)|Billy Hoffman]], country music singer, raised in Poteau
* [[Robert S. Kerr]], U.S. senator who owned a home and cattle ranch in the Poteau area<ref name="PoteauC"/>
* [[Mick Thompson]], current [[Oklahoma State Banking Department|Oklahoma State Banking commissioner]] and former Oklahoma state representative

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Poteau}}
* {{Official website|www.poteau-ok.com}}
* [http://www.poteauchamber.com Poteau Chamber of Commerce]

{{Le Flore County, Oklahoma}}
{{Oklahoma county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Le Flore County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Cities in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:County seats in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Fort Smith metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1885]]
[[Category:1885 establishments in Indian Territory]]