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History · McCurtain

McCurtain’s post office opened in 1902, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McCurtain’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McCurtain began

When was McCurtain founded?

1902

The McCurtain post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 526 in 19102020 census: 355124 years
Founding year: the first McCurtain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about McCurtain’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1982. Watch McCurtain change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,062 in 1920; 355 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of McCurtain’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · On the map

McCurtain on the map, 1900 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McCurtain. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

McCurtain on the 1900 USGS mapMcCurtain on the 1911 USGS mapMcCurtain on the 1968 USGS mapMcCurtain on the 1978 USGS mapMcCurtain on the 1982 USGS map1900Sallisaw sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McCurtain.

People over time

McCurtain, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,062

Peaked at 1,062 in 1920; 355 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on McCurtain’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How McCurtain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McCurtain.

Read it all →

In 1889, coal deposits discovered in the area that would become southern Haskell County attracted some European miners and American entrepreneurs. They established a community called Panther, which was renamed in 1902 to honor Choctaw Principal Chief Green McCurtain. Another mining town, Chant, was established nearby, and the two began to grow together. McCurtain and Chant prospered after the Fort Smith and Western Railroad connected McCurtain with Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1901. The railroad was built westward until it reached the Canadian River in 1902. The San Bois Coal Company built four hundred company houses for miners living in McCurtain and Chant. By 1907 statehood the combined population of the two communities was 1,760.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McCurtain, 1900 to 1946

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1902In the archiveMap of Sans Bois Coal Company's Coal Leases near McCurtain, Indian Territory
  4. 1902Post officeThe McCurtain post office opens
  5. 1911In the archiveA View in Chant, Okla
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,062
  7. 1946In the archiveCommissary in government housing project for miners. This commissary has seen little use …
By decade

McCurtain, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s8 items
Map of Sans Bois Coal Company's Coal Leases near McCurtain, Indian Territory1902Map of Sans Bois Coal Company's Coal Leases near McCu…MapA View in Chant, Okla1911A View in Chant, OklaBirds eye view of Chant, Okla1911Birds eye view of Chant, OklaCommissary in government housing project for miners. This commissary has seen little use because the miners did not... …1946Commissary in government housing project for miners. …Front porch of home of government housing project now partially occupied by oil field workers. McCurtain, Le Flore Coun…1946Front porch of home of government housing project now…Houses in government housing project originally intended for coal miners. Oil field workers occupy a few of these... - …1946Houses in government housing project originally inten…Houses in government housing project originally intended for miners. Oil field workers occupy a few of these houses....…1946Houses in government housing project originally inten…Recreation building in government housing project for miners. This building has not been used. McCurtain, Le Flore Coun…1946Recreation building in government housing project for…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

A View in Chant, Okla
Retake this viewA View in Chant, Okla, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on McCurtain’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to McCurtain

Nobody well known was born in McCurtain itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sim InessAthletics competitor · b. 1930
Cal SmithAmerican country musician · b. 1932
Dallas FrazierAmerican country musician and songwriter · b. 1939
Henry BurrisAmerican and Canadian football player · b. 1975
William Grady StiglerAmerican politician · b. 1891
John JarmanSon of John Henry Jarman I and Gran. · b. 1915
Help out

Finish McCurtain’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA View in Chant, Okla: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about McCurtain’s history

What year was McCurtain founded?

The McCurtain post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.