Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Coal County, Oklahoma.

Official Website

Coal County was formed at statehood from the former Shappaway County (later renamed Atoka County) of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. A 3.5 mile strip of Coal County was taken from the Pontotoc District of the Chickasaw Nation. Initially, the Oklahoma legislature named Lehigh as the county seat, but a special election held in 1908 resulted in the citizens choosing Coalgate as the county seat. Lehigh tried to sue because more people voted than were registered, but no court would hear the case.

Mining became a mainstay of the county's economy during the 1870s. The first coal mine opened on Chief Allen Wright's land. The industry activity peaked between 1910 and 1916 but declined sharply after World War I. Many of the mines closed by 1921, due to the refusal of mining companies of the area to unionize. Some mines reopened during World War II, but these closed by 1958, because of the rising cost of refining sulfur out of the coal mined.

Agriculture replaced mining as the main economic activity of the county. Even this business encountered severe difficulty in 1921–3 when a boll weevil infestation wiped out the cotton crop. All five banks in the county failed as a result.

Adjacent Counties

• Hughes County
• Pittsburg County
• Atoka County
• Johnston County
• Pontotoc County

Cities, Towns & Communities

• Bromide
• Cairo
• Centrahoma
• Clarita
• Coalgate (County Seat)
• Cottonwood
• Lehigh
• Olney
• Phillips
• Tupelo

Links

Wikipedia

Roots Web

National Register of Historic Places

Cole County Genealogical Society

Genealogy Trails

OK Gen Web

RAOGK

Forebears.io