INDIAN TERRITORY AND THE CHOCTAW PEOPLE

Land west of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border was established as Indian Territory in 1832. The Choctaws, uprooted from central and northern Mississippi, were relocated to much of the southeastern part of the Territory now known as LeFlore, McCurtain, Pushmataha, Haskell, Latimer, and Choctaw communities of Oklahoma. The Choctaw people were a progressive population embracing new ideas and products of the Spanish explorers and French traders/trappers.

In 1776, the Choctaw nation numbered 12,000. The white settlers invaded their ancestral home during the early 1800's and sought to eliminate tribal government to adopt state law. Choctaws were forced to move westward after enactment of The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 followed by the Indian Removal Act.

Two families making the move and becoming prominent in the new Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma were the Folsoms and the McCurtains. Peter Conser, whose restored family home is near Heavener, was also a well-known and respected law enforcement officer.

Choctaws suffered great losses during the Civil War, fighting with the Confederacy. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Choctaws accepted U.S. citizenship. They still make up a large part of southeast Oklahoma's population.

OTHER SETTLERS

Immigrants from the mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky and northern Georgia were the earliest settlers in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas during the early 1830s. Others arrived from the lowlands of Mississippi where infectious diseases were rampant. Lifestyles were primitive and self-reliant due to the isolated location. At the turn of 20th century, the railroad and timber industries emerged and brought great surges of immigrants. Ultimately, Arkansas became a state in 1836.

The long crest of Rich Mountain is fairly even and offered opportunities for small farms. With the mountain providing uncommonly rich soil and springs, several prosperous farms developed. Rich Mountain's few residents presided from 1860 to 1949. Many secured land patents from the U.S. government under the Homestead Act of 1862. Traces of these homesteads still remain visible. If stumbling upon these artifacts, please do not disturb them and help preserve part of our country's heritage.

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