Atoka County, Oklahoma

The area forming Atoka County was part of the Choctaw Nation after the tribe was forced to relocate in the early 1830s to Indian Territory from its home in the Southeastern United States. Unlike the State of Oklahoma, whose county boundaries follow the precise north–south, east–west grid established with the state's township and range system, the Choctaw Nation established its internal divisions using easily recognizable landmarks, such as mountains and rivers, as borders. The territory of present-day Atoka County fell within the Pushmataha District, one of the three administrative super-regions comprising the Choctaw Nation. Within that district, it was in parts of Atoka, Blue, and Jack's Fork counties.

The Choctaw named their Atoka County in honor of Chief Atoka, a leader of a party that migrated from Georgia to Indian Territory; the name was retained when Oklahoma became a state.^[3]

In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail established a stagecoach route through the area. It carried passengers, US Mail, and some freight. One station, Waddell's, was near Wesley; a second station, Geary's, was between Waddell's and the Muddy Boggy River, while a third was at Boggy Depot.^[3]

During the Civil War, Confederate troops established a supply depot named Camp Boggy Depot here. After the war, the town of Atoka was established. In 1872, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (nicknamed the Christopher Casey) built a track through the county. It bypassed Boggy Depot and passed through Atoka; this access increased the importance of Atoka, but lack of the railroad contributed to the decline of Boggy Depot.^[3]

The economy of Atoka County has been largely built on coal mining, limestone quarrying, forestry, and agriculture. Cattle raising became the leading business in the mid-twentieth century. A major employer is the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Farm (renamed the Mack H. Alford Correctional Center), a medium-security prison that opened in 1933.^[3]

Atoka County is in southeastern Oklahoma, in a 10-county area designated for tourism purposes by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as Choctaw Country.^[4] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 990 square miles (2,600 km²), of which 976 square miles (2,530 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (1.5%) is water.^[5]

Atoka County is drained by North Boggy, Clear Boggy and Muddy Boggy Creeks, which are tributaries of the Red River, and by McGee Creek, which is a tributary of Muddy Boggy Creek. Atoka Reservoir is in the northern section of the county. The Ouachita Mountains are in the eastern part of the county, while the Sandstone Hills and Coastal Plains physiographic regions provide a more level terrain suitable for agriculture in the north and western part of the county.^[3]

About 12 miles WSW of the town of Atoka is Boggy Depot State Park, the historic site of a once large community on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route.

The Katian Age of the Ordovician Period of geological time is named for Katy Lake, which is two miles north east of Atoka. The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Katian stage is the Black Knob Ridge Section in the county.^[6][7]

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections operates the Mack Alford Correctional Center in an unincorporated area, near Stringtown.^[19]

K-12 school districts include:^[20]

There is one elementary school district, Lane Public School.^[20]

Previously another elementary school district, Farris Public School, was in operation.^[21] In 2013 the Farris district closed and consolidated into the Lane district.^[22]

The following sites in Atoka County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: