Идабель, Оклахома: История и современность города

Idabel is a city in and the county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is in Oklahoma's southeast corner, a tourist area known as Choctaw Country.

Idabel was established in 1902 by the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (later part of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, the line now being operated by the Kiamichi Railroad). The city was first named Purnell, after Isaac Purnell, a railroad official. When postal officials rejected that designation, the name was changed to Mitchell, honoring another railroad company officer. Postal officials also rejected that name because another post office of that name existed elsewhere in the territory. They named the post office Bokhoma (a Choctaw word meaning Red River), which opened December 15, 1902. Railroad officials then chose the name Idabel, a compound of the names of Isaac Purnell's two daughters, Ida and Bell. The post office was then renamed Idabel. At the time of its founding, Idabel was located in Bok Tuklo County, a part of the Apukshunubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. For its first four years, Idabel local government was the responsibility of the Choctaw tribe for the Indians themselves. The national government was responsible for enforcing the law among non Choctaws. In 1906, the citizens elected their first mayor and established a mayor council form of government. At the time of statehood, November 16, 1907, the town was designated as the county seat of McCurtain County. A census in that year reported 726 residents. By 1910, the population had grown to 1,493. In 1920, there were 3,617 residents, but the number fell to 2,581 in 1930. Growth resumed by the end of the Great Depression in the late 1930s. Idabel residents elected their first African American mayor in April 2019, mayor Craig Young.

On November 4, 2022, Idabel was hit by a destructive EF4 tornado. The tornado warranted a tornado emergency and was at EF3 strength when it struck the city. It caused heavy damage, mainly to the southeast portion of the city.

Idabel lies between the Little River and the Red River, about west of the Oklahoma Arkansas state line and east of Hugo.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Idabel has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Initially, timber was the basis for the local economy, but this was supplanted by cotton production after the nearby forests were cleared. One cotton gin operated in Idabel in 1904, but six were in business in 1930. However, the Great Depression, depleted soil and destructive pests essentially wiped out this industry around Idabel. Landowners converted their properties to pastures and expanded beef production. Chicken farms were also established in the area and marginal agricultural land was turned into pine plantations. Little River National Wildlife Refuge is to the northeast; further to the northeast are Broken Bow Lake, Beavers Bend State Park, Hochatown State Park (now part of Beavers Bend), McCurtain County Game Reserve, and the Carson Creek Recreation Area. To the southeast is the Red Slough Wildlife Management Area. The Museum of the Red River houses art as well as archaeology, including Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, the Oklahoma State Dinosaur. The Barnes Stevenson House is a 1912 restored Victorian house complete with period furnishings, and is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. Other Idabel locales on the list include the Frisco Station, the Idabel Armory, the Rouleau Hotel, and the Spaulding Olive House.