Howe

History

This community was originally a Choctaw Nation town named Klondike. After the Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Gulf Railroad laid tracks through it in 1895-6, the residents renamed it for Dr. Herbert M. Howe, a railroad director. A post office opened at Howe, Indian Territory in 1898. The Kansas City Southern Railroad bought the Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Gulf Railroad in 1900. At the time of its founding, the community was located in the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. Howe contained 626 residents in 1900, but the number declined to 538 by the 1910 census. It had grown again to 711 in 1920. The population began a long-term decline from 692 in 1930, to 640 in 1940 and to 390 in 1960. The town had its own newspaper, the Howe Herald, four doctors, four drugstores, a bank, two hotels and two cotton gins. In 1961, an F4 tornado hit Howe and the neighboring village Reichert. The source calls the village Reichter, but the actual name is apparently Reichert. Some accounts even refer to the village as Richards. Sixteen people died, thirteen of them in Howe; fifty-eight were injured, fifty-seven in Howe; and at least fifty homes were destroyed. Despite this, Howe's population trend reversed again. There were 562 residents in 1980, 697 in 2000 and 802 in 2010.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. it is north of Heavener and south of Poteau.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  186
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  184
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  183
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  177
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  166
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  164
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  158
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  130

Largest nearby schools

• POTEAU HS
  High · Poteau · 636 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• HEAVENER ES
  Elementary · Heavener · 577 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• POTEAU UPPER ES
  Elementary · Poteau · 471 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• HOWE ES
  Elementary · Howe · 464 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• POTEAU PRIMARY ES
  Elementary · Poteau · 433 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• 7TH AND 8TH GRADE ACADEMIC CTR
  Middle · Poteau · 362 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• WISTER ES
  Elementary · Wister · 335 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• HEAVENER HS
  High · Heavener · 310 students · 11.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-08-31
  12 km E of Crowder, Oklahoma
• M 2.65 — 2024-10-28
  14 km WSW of Quinton, Oklahoma
• M 2.86 — 2024-08-14
  13 km WSW of Quinton, Oklahoma
• M 2.6 — 2023-03-16
  11 km E of Crowder, Oklahoma
• M 2.8 — 2022-06-05
  13 km WSW of Quinton, Oklahoma
• M 3.16 — 2022-06-03
  10 km W of Quinton, Oklahoma