Heavener, Oklahoma

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.

From the History section of Heavener, Oklahoma on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.