McAlester

History

The crossing of the east–west California Road with the north–south Texas Road formed a natural point of settlement. At the time of its founding, the site was located in Tobucksy County, a part of the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. Alyssia Young, who emigrated from Mississippi to the Indian Territory, first established a settlement at the intersection of the two roads in 1838. The town was named Perryville after James Perry, member of a Choctaw family, who established a trading post. At one time Perryville was the capital of the Choctaw Nation and County Seat of Tobucksy County. During the American Civil War, the Choctaw allied with the Confederate States of America (CSA) as the war reached Indian Territory. A depot providing supplies to Confederate Forces in Indian Territory was set up at Perryville. On August 26, 1863, a force of 4,500 Union soldiers crossed the Canadian River and destroyed the Confederate munitions depot at Perryville. This became known as the Battle of Perryville, Indian Territory. Union Major General James G. Blunt, finding the Confederate supplies and realizing that Perryville was a major supply depot for Confederate forces, ordered the town burned. The town was rebuilt but never reached its prewar glory or population. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, Captain J. J. McAlester obtained a job with the trading company of Reynolds and Hannaford. McAlester convinced the firm to locate a general store at Tupelo in the Choctaw Nation. He had learned of coal deposits in Indian Territory during the war while serving as a captain with the 22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Confederate). At Fort Smith, Arkansas, before going to work with Reynolds and Hannaford, McAlester had received maps of the coal deposits from engineer Oliver Weldon,…

Geography

McAlester is at the intersection of U.S. Route 69 and U.S. Route 270, in Pittsburg County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land. It has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and average monthly temperatures range from in January to in July. The hardiness zone is 7b.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  108
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  98
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  83
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  78
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  74
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  64
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  60
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  57

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 2.5 — 2025-08-31
  12 km E of Crowder, Oklahoma
• M 2.65 — 2024-10-28
  14 km WSW of Quinton, Oklahoma