Dunbar, Oklahoma

Last updated

Dunbar is a community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, [1] 17 miles north of Antlers.

A United States Post Office operated here from May 5, 1925, to January 15, 1956. In its early days, it was a sawmill town in the Indian Territory. [2]

During the 1880s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, more popularly known as the “Frisco”, built a line from north to south through the Choctaw Nation, connecting Fort Smith, Arkansas with Paris, Texas. The railroad paralleled the Kiamichi River throughout much of its route in present-day Pushmataha County. Train stations were established every few miles to aid in opening up the land and, more particularly, to serve as the locations of section houses. Supervisors for their respective miles of track lived in the section houses to administer the track and its right-of-way. These stations also served as points at which the trains could draw water.

The site of Dunbar was selected because of its proximity to the Kiamichi River, with its abundant water supply. Adjacent station stops were established at Stanley to the north and Wadena to the south.

The sparsely populated area, at that time known as Jack’s Fork County of the Choctaw Nation, in the Indian Territory, was home to Choctaw Indians who farmed or subsisted on the land. [3] Few roads or trails existed. Transportation was provided by the Frisco Railroad, which offered six trains per day—three in each direction—until it closed to passenger traffic during the late 1950s. It continued freight operations until 1981, when it closed altogether and its rails were removed. The loss of passenger rail coincided with the construction of Oklahoma State Highway 2.

Dunbar, in one of the most scenic valleys in the state, is framed by Dunbar Mountain on the east and Bull Creek Mountain on the west.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pushmataha County, Oklahoma</span> County in Oklahoma, United States

Pushmataha County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,812. Its county seat is Antlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albion, Oklahoma</span> Town in Oklahoma, United States

Albion is a town in northeast Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Pushmataha-Latimer county line. The population was 106 at the 2010 census. When Albion was established, before Oklahoma became a state, the community was located in Wade County, Choctaw Nation, in what was then known as Indian Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antlers, Oklahoma</span> City in Oklahoma, United States

Antlers is a city in and the county seat of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,453 at the 2010 census, a 3.9 percent decline from 2,552 in 2000. The town was named for a kind of tree that becomes festooned with antlers shed by deer, and is taken as a sign of the location of a spring frequented by deer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiamichi River</span> River in Oklahoma, United States

The Kiamichi River is a river in southeastern Oklahoma, United States of America. A tributary of the Red River of the South, its headwaters rise on Pine Mountain in the Ouachita Mountains near the Arkansas border. From its source in Polk County, Arkansas, it flows approximately 177 miles (285 km) to its confluence with the Red River at Hugo, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuskahoma, Oklahoma</span> Unincorporated community and census-designated place in Oklahoma, United States

Tuskahoma is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, four miles east of Clayton. It was the former seat of the Choctaw Nation government prior to Oklahoma statehood. The population at the 2010 census was 151.

Moyers is an unincorporated community located in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States.

Kosoma is a ghost town and former railroad station in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located just off Oklahoma State Highway 2, approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Antlers.

Kellond is an unincorporated community and former railroad station in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. Kellond is located approximately three miles northwest of Antlers on Oklahoma State Highway 2.

Belzoni is a community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. Located several miles southwest of Rattan, it was formerly home to a thriving community and continues as a place name.

Eubanks is a former community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. It is 13 miles north of Antlers.

Honobia is an unincorporated community on the border between western LeFlore County and eastern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, 15 miles southeast of Talihina.

Kiamichi is a former community in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. It is six miles east of Tuskahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney, Oklahoma</span> Ghost Town in Oklahoma, United States

Rodney is a former community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States, five miles north of Antlers.

Sardis was a community in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. United States. The location is six miles northwest of Clayton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley, Oklahoma</span>

Stanley is an unincorporated community in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The community is on Oklahoma State Highway 2 seven miles southwest of Clayton. The Kiamichi River flows past the southeast side of the site.

Hamden is an unincorporated community in northern Choctaw County, Oklahoma, United States. It is seven miles southeast of Antlers.

Johns Valley is a geographic feature and place name located in the Kiamichi Mountains in northwestern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The valley] is formally classified by geologists as a “basin” due to its complete encirclement by mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antlers Frisco Depot and Antlers Spring</span> Historic place in Oklahoma, United States

The Frisco Depot and adjacent Antlers Spring are historic sites in Antlers, Oklahoma, United States. The sites are a part of the National Register of Historic Places, in which they appear as a single entry.

The Pushmataha County Historical Society is a historical society devoted to collecting and preserving the history of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. It is headquartered in the historic Frisco Depot in Antlers, Oklahoma, which it operates as a public museum.

Wade County was a political subdivision of the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory, prior to Oklahoma being admitted as a state. The county formed part of the Nation's Apukshunnubbee District, or First District, one of three administrative super-regions.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dunbar, Oklahoma
  2. ↑ George H. Shirk, Oklahoma Place Names, p. 67; Post Office Site Location Reports, Record Group 28, National Archives
  3. ↑ Morris, John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.

34°27′31″N95°33′38″W / 34.45861°N 95.56056°W / 34.45861; -95.56056

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.