Red Oak

History

The area around Red Oak has been inhabited since approximately 9,000 BCE, beginning with people of the Fourche Maline Culture who were descended from the first Native Americans to migrate from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge. Archaeological sites such as the McCutchan-McLaughlin site in southeastern Latimer County provide evidence of Fourche Maline settlements, particularly the burial mounds used by these people groups. The combination of poor health and prolonged drought led to the extinction of the Fourche Maline cultures by the early 15th century. European explorers, including Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and Jean Baptiste Bernard de la Harpe, began arriving in the mid-16th century and found only scattered remains of these once thriving cultures. Red Oak became an area of settlement for members of the Choctaw tribe during relocation as part of the Trail of Tears beginning in the 1830s. In 1858, English immigrant Thomas Edwards married Choctaw native Nancy Hardaway and together they established Edwards Store on Hardaway's land on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. Adhering to Choctaw tradition in naming sites after people or prominent features, the community that arose around their store became known as "Red Oak," after a large red oak tree in the area. Edwards Store became the first post office in Red Oak and was a successful merchantile for both the stage route and the growing community. At the time it was founded, Red Oak was located in the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. The arrival of the Choctaw Coal and Railway (later the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad, subsequently acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) nine miles southwest of Edwards Store led to the relocation of the town to its present site. With close…

Geography

Red Oak is located at (34.951669, −95.080890). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• RED OAK ES
  Elementary · Red Oak · 209 students · 19:1 ratio
• RED OAK HS
  High · Red Oak · 95 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• PANOLA ES
  Elementary · Wilburton · 65 students · 13:1 ratio