Tuskahoma, Oklahoma

Coordinates: 34°37′04″N 95°16′34″W / 34.61778°N 95.27611°W / 34.61778; -95.27611
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tuskahoma
Tushka Homma (
FIPS code
40-75300
GNIS feature ID2629939[2]

Tuskahoma is an

Choctaw Nation government prior to Oklahoma statehood. The population was 102 as of the 2020 United States census.[3]

History

A

Council House (1872–1880) and Lyceum (1896–1900). Council House was at the Choctaw Capitol Building and Lyceum was at the former Choctaw Female Academy.[4]

Tuskahoma is a compound word meaning 'red warrior' in the Choctaw language.[5] The spelling was originally rendered as Tvshka Homma in an 1852 Choctaw-English dictionary published by a missionary, the Rev. Cyrus Byington. The apparent lower-case "v" is actually a Greek letter, upsilon, which represents what Byington described as a "u short" sound.[6] In recent years, the Choctaw Nation's official publications have switched to this spelling.[7]

Tuskahoma was designated as (political) capital of the

Skullyville, Fort Towson and Boggy Depot. The Choctaw wartime capital during the Civil War was at Armstrong Academy, also known as Chahta Tamaha.[8]

After the Choctaw Nation decided to make Tuskahoma the permanent capital, it constructed an appropriate building to house the government. A spacious Choctaw Capitol Building was completed in the fall of 1884. It was two stories, brick, with a garret under its French mansard roof. Many called it the finest building in the Indian Territory. It included large rooms for the Senate, House of Representatives, and Supreme Court. Also included were an Executive Office for the Principal Chief, or Governor, of the Choctaw Nation, five smaller rooms for the national officers, and five committee rooms. It was heated by numerous fireplaces.[5]

Almost immediately, a bustling town sprang up by the capitol building. Several hotels, boarding houses, barber shops,

St. Louis and San Francisco Railway built its tracks through the Kiamichi River valley in the mid-1880s, they ran two miles to the south of the capitol. Business flocked to the vicinity of the new Tuskahoma railroad station and the Capitol precinct was abandoned, except during sessions of the government.[9]

This twist of history altered Tuskahoma's prominence. The Choctaw Nation constitution directed the constitutional officers, such as Principal Chief, National Secretary, National Treasurer, National Auditor and National Attorney to reside "at or near the seat of government", but this provision was never enforced. During the National Council's first session in its new capitol, the principal chief of the day, J.F. McCurtain, proposed building five homes on the site to accommodate the national officers, but this was never done.[9]

In addition to serving as a government center, Tuskahoma was also intended to be a cultural center and was the location of the Choctaw Nation's national girls' school. Tuskahoma Female Academy [or Institute] opened in 1892 at nearby Lyceum, with Peter J. Hudson serving as superintendent. The academy, also known as the Choctaw Female Academy, occupied a classical-style two-story colonnaded building. It burned in 1925 and was not rebuilt. [Noted Choctaw educator Anna Lewis, who had attended the school, bought the site and used materials from the ruins to build her family home, which she called Nunih Waiyah.[10]] From that time forward, Tuskahoma's role as a center of education ceased.[11]

Tuskahoma's new site along the railroad prospered, and became a vibrant community and trading center. Banks, hotels,

stores, churches, a school, and numerous homes lined its commercial district and residential streets. Its importance began to wane during the middle and later years of the 20th century, as commerce shifted to nearby Clayton or elsewhere, following the construction of highways and shifting of transport off the railroads.[12]

Prior to Oklahoma's statehood, Tuskahoma and the Choctaw Capitol Building were in Wade County, Choctaw Nation.[13] More information on Tuskahoma may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society.

Geography

Local transportation was revolutionized during the 1950s by the construction of U.S. Highway 271, which provided paved all-weather highway connections to Clayton and the county seat at Antlers to the east and south, and Talihina, Wilburton and Poteau to the northeast.

The Kiamichi River, important as a source of water, is not navigable at Tuskahoma and has never played a role in local transportation. It did, however, cause the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway to place its station at Tuskahoma's present location, due to the trains’ need for a reliable water supply, rather than its original location at the Capitol.

The Kiamichi Mountains define life in the Tuskahoma region, which is one of Oklahoma's most scenic areas. The Kiamichi River valley stretches to the east and west of the community. To the north lie the unusually serrated Potato Hills, with peaks topping out at approximately 1,000 feet in elevation. To the south is a scenic but imposing mountain wilderness, with summits topping off at approximately 1,600 feet in elevation. Here, roads do not penetrate and all transportation is via unimproved—but marked and fairly well maintained—timber company roads, including Clayton Trail, Hurd Creek Trail, K Trail, Cripple Mountain Trail and Black Fork Trail.

Unusual and striking geological features abound in the Tuskahoma region. Its valley—one of the prettiest in Oklahoma—is of special note. The Potato Hills, a group of tall outcroppings eroded from prehistoric mountains, are a regional landmark. To the north of Tuskahoma lies McKinley Rocks, a series of massive white boulders seemingly strewn across the top of a mountain. Access is difficult, causing a

26th President of the United States, William McKinley.[14]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2020102—
U.S. Decennial Census[15]

Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival

The

bison
tours, volleyball games, a swimming pool, tent and RV grounds, a 5K run, playgrounds, a museum, and numerous other events.

During recent years the Choctaw Capitol Building has been recognized as an architecturally and historically significant structure, and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It hosts the Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival and provides the centerpiece for the festivities.

Climate

Climate data for Tuskahoma, Oklahoma. (Elevation 600ft)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 78
(26) 		87
(31) 		93
(34) 		96
(36) 		97
(36) 		107
(42) 		112
(44) 		114
(46) 		112
(44) 		101
(38) 		87
(31) 		80
(27) 		114
(46)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 53.1
(11.7) 		58.2
(14.6) 		67.2
(19.6) 		75.2
(24.0) 		81.3
(27.4) 		88.7
(31.5) 		94.6
(34.8) 		95.0
(35.0) 		87.3
(30.7) 		77.0
(25.0) 		64.4
(18.0) 		55.0
(12.8) 		74.8
(23.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 29.1
(−1.6) 		33.1
(0.6) 		41.7
(5.4) 		49.7
(9.8) 		58.5
(14.7) 		66.5
(19.2) 		70.1
(21.2) 		69.1
(20.6) 		61.9
(16.6) 		50.5
(10.3) 		40.7
(4.8) 		31.7
(−0.2) 		50.2
(10.1)
Record low °F (°C) −13
(−25) 		−4
(−20) 		5
(−15) 		21
(−6) 		32
(0) 		40
(4) 		47
(8) 		47
(8) 		32
(0) 		18
(−8) 		7
(−14) 		−10
(−23) 		−13
(−25)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.94
(75) 		2.97
(75) 		3.68
(93) 		5.10
(130) 		5.95
(151) 		4.89
(124) 		3.38
(86) 		2.92
(74) 		4.40
(112) 		4.45
(113) 		4.02
(102) 		3.32
(84) 		48.02
(1,220)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.7
(4.3) 		1.3
(3.3) 		0.4
(1.0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0.1
(0.25) 		0.4
(1.0) 		4.0
(10)
Source: The Western Regional Climate Center[16]

References

  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tuskahoma, Oklahoma
  3. ^ "Tuskahoma (CDP), Oklahoma". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  4. ^ George H. Shirk, Oklahoma Place Names, pp. 55, 130, 209-210; Post Office Site Location Reports, Record Group 28, National Archives.
  5. ^ a b Angie Debo, Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic, pp. 158-159.
  6. ^ Cyrus Byington, An English and Choctaw Definer: for the Choctaw Academies and Schools (New York: S.W. Benedict, 1852), p. 3.
  7. ^ The federal government adopted the spelling, "Tuskahoma", as early as 1910. Its official arbiter of place names, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, continues to use this spelling.
  8. ^ Debo, pp. 75-76, 158-159.
  9. ^ a b Debo, p. 159.
  10. ^ Linda Reese, "Dr. Anna Lewis: Historian at Oklahoma College for Women," Chronicles of Oklahoma 82.4 (2004) pp. 428-449
  11. ^ Debo, p. 239.
  12. ^ Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps on microfilm, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries.
  13. ^ Morris, John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.
  14. ^ WPA Papers, Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries.
  15. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  16. ^ "Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
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