Heavener

History

Joseph H. Heavener and some other white settlers arrived, secured permits to farm from the Chocktaw Indians, and settled down to farm. In 1880, Zachary Taylor Ward and his Choctaw wife, Tabitha Hickman Ward, moved their store from Skullyville to the present site of Heavener. Ward died in 1883, and his widow, Tabitha, married Heavener. The couple owned the land on which the town was established. Before being named Heavener by a popular vote in 1895, the area was known by several different names, including Prairie of the Tall Grass, Choctaw City, Prairie View, Long Prairie, and Grand Prairie. At the time of its founding, and through Oklahoma's statehood in 1907, Heavener was located in Sugar Loaf County, one of the counties making up the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. Suitable agricultural land around Heavener attracted many farmers as settlers. Other improvements soon followed. A cotton gin and a grist mill were built in the town in 1885. In 1896 the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad built tracks through the town. A post office was established in a boxcar on May 12, 1896, while another boxcar became the train station. In 1900-1901 a predecessor of the Arkansas Western Railroad constructed tracks from Heavener east into Arkansas. The Curtis Act allowed Heavener to incorporate in Indian Territory in 1898; Henry Moore was elected as the first mayor. The town population was 254 in 1900 when the Kansas City Southern Railway purchased the rail line. The company established a roundhouse in 1910, making Heavener a division point. By 1910, the population was 780, and continued increasing to 1,850 by 1920. Mining and timber came to the local economy in the 1930s. The 1930 census showed the population to be 2,269. The Burnett Lumber Company opened a…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.40%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• HEAVENER ES
  Elementary · Heavener · 577 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• HOWE ES
  Elementary · Howe · 464 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• WISTER ES
  Elementary · Wister · 335 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• HEAVENER HS
  High · Heavener · 310 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• HODGEN PUBLIC SCHOOL
  Elementary · Hodgen · 271 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• HOWE HS
  High · Howe · 226 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• WISTER HS
  High · Wister · 167 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• MONROE PUBLIC SCHOOL
  Elementary · Monroe · 115 students · 16.4:1 ratio