Потоу қаласының тарихы мен географиясы

Poteau ('/p//oʊ//t//oʊ/ POHtoh) is a city in, and county seat of, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,520 as of the 2010 census.

In 1719, Bernard de la Harpe led a group of French explorers through this area and gave the river its present name. The present day city was founded in 1885, its name derived from the nearby Poteau River. During the late 1700s, there was a large French outpost at Belle Point (Ft. Smith). From there, they would travel up the Poteau River to a secondary post at the base of Cavanal Mountain. Because of this, the river was named the "Post River", or Poteau River, and the outpost was simply called the post, or "Poteau". A group of French explorers gave the river its present name during the early 18th Century. Poteau is a French word meaning post. The Poteau Chamber of Commerce has written that the community was founded in 1885 as a few houses and Bud Tate's general store. At the time of its founding, Poteau was in Sugar Loaf County, a part of the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. It was incorporated as a town in the Indian Territory by the federal government on October 8, 1898. The first stone public building, a school, was built in the same year. The location was a subject of extensive coal mining in the first half of the 20th Century, and a railway, eventually called the Poteau and Cavanal Mountain Railroad, served the mines. The summit elevation of the hill is 2385 feet (727 m) above sea level, while the hill rises 1960 feet (597 m) above the Poteau River on the east side of Poteau.

Poteau is tied with several other towns for the highest recorded temperature in the state of Oklahoma.

+Poteau Racial CompositionRaceNum. Perc. White5,40761.39%Black or African American1021.16%Native American1,13712.91%Asian820.93%Pacific Islander170.19%Other/Mixed88210.01%Hispanic or Latino1,18013.4%
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 8,807 people, 3,199 households, and 2,224 families residing in the city.

As of the census Other City facilities include the Poteau Area Recreational Complex for sports events, as well as Bill J. Barber Park and Dunbar Park. Lake Wister and the Lake Wister State Park are located in Poteau.

Poteau has a mayor council type of city government, with eight members on the council. The mayor and council members are elected by the citizens to four year terms. The city Police Department consists of a chief, elected by citizen voters and 12 officers who report to the chief. The city has an all volunteer fire department, which has a fire chief, an assistant chief, captain and 13 firemen. Pansy Kidd Middle School is named in honor of Pansy Ingle Kidd (1890–1978), who taught in Poteau for over 40 years and was nicknamed the "Dean of Poteau's Teachers." In 1955, Dr. John Montgomery, a black veterinarian, petitioned the Poteau Public School Board to eliminate the racial segregation of its schools. The board approved his petition, resulting in the integration of the school system and marking Poteau as the first city in Oklahoma to allow African Americans to learn alongside white students in its primary and secondary schools. Robert S. Kerr Airport (KRKR; FAA ID: RKR), about 2 miles south of town, has a 4007’ x 75’ paved runway.

The LeFlore County Sheriff's office is in Poteau, and contains six highway patrol officers and an inspector.