Durant

History

The Durant area was once claimed by both Spain and France, before officially becoming part of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase and Adams–Onís Treaty. During the 1820s and 1830s, the area was designated as part of the Choctaw Nation in the southern Indian Territory. During the Indian removals, the Choctaws followed the Choctaw Trail of Tears from their ancestral homeland in Mississippi and Alabama into this area. The Choctaw Nation originally extended from the Mexican border in the west (now part of the Texas Panhandle) to the Arkansas Territory in the east, from the Red River in the south to the South Canadian River in the north. In 1855, the Choctaw and Chickasaws formally divided their land into two separate nations, with Durant remaining in Choctaw territory on the east. Chickasaw land extended west to the boundary that divided the Indian Territory from the Oklahoma Territory after passage of the Oklahoma Organic Act in 1890. Fisher Durant's son Dixon Durant is recognized as the founder of Durant and is honored as its namesake. A minister, businessman, and civic leader, Dixon Durant is credited with pastorates in local Presbyterian, Congregational, and Methodist churches. He established the first store selling general merchandise in 1873, around the time of the 1872 creation of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (Katy Railroad) siding at Durant, which was the initial impetus for establishing the community. The U.S. Postal Service re-established the post office at the site as Durant on March 8, 1882, dropping the word "station" from the name. Beginning in 1882, the area was simply called Durant. In 1895, a fire destroyed the original business district, which had spread along the Katy tracks. Calvin Institute was opened in 1894, representing the first…

Geography

Durant is located in southeast Oklahoma, in a region named Texoma, or Texomaland, because of its short distance from Lake Texoma. The city is also part of Choctaw Country, formerly Kiamichi Country. Its geographic coordinates are (33.999834, −96.384825). It is about north of the Texas border at the Red River. Dallas is about south of Durant. The north edge of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, in McKinney, is about to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Durant has a total area of , of which , or 0.24%, is covered by water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• DURANT HS
  High · Durant · 956 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• CALERA ES
  Elementary · Calera · 631 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• DURANT INTERMEDIATE ES
  Middle · Durant · 615 students · 15:1 ratio
• DURANT MS
  Middle · Durant · 589 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• NORTHWEST HEIGHTS ES
  Elementary · Durant · 490 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• WASHINGTON IRVING ES
  Elementary · Durant · 435 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• ROCK CREEK ES
  Elementary · Durant · 375 students · 15:1 ratio
• SILO EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
  Elementary · Durant · 357 students · 19.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.67 — 2026-08-13
  5 km NE of Wardville, Oklahoma
• M 2.55 — 2026-08-09
  4 km ENE of Wardville, Oklahoma
• M 2.94 — 2026-08-09
  4 km ENE of Wardville, Oklahoma
• M 2.69 — 2026-08-08
  4 km ENE of Wardville, Oklahoma
• M 3.12 — 2026-02-15
  2 km WNW of Springer, Oklahoma
• M 3.08 — 2024-08-29
  10 km SW of Lehigh, Oklahoma