The community began in 1903 when Ran Woods and others constructed a two-room log schoolhouse on the site. The schoolhouse, no longer standing, was once attended by former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Carl Albert. The settlement was allegedly named by Woods, who felt that the bugs at the site were so numerous that they were an endless "tussle". Bugtussle is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of McAlester. It was renamed Flowery Mound circa 1907, but the original name persisted. At the time of its founding, Bugtussle was in Tobucksy County, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, in the Indian Territory.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
