Kosoma, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Kosoma is a settlement and former railroad station in Pushmataha County
, Oklahoma
, United States
. It is located just off Oklahoma State Highway 2, about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Antlers
.
, also known as Deer Mountain. Close by is Lost Mountain
, notable for its relative cone shape and location in the middle of the Kiamichi River valley
, apart from other mountains. The area of the valley floor on which Kosoma was built is bracketed by two locally prominent and well-watered streams: Buck Creek
to the south and Pine Creek to the north.
. During the 1880s the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
, more popularly known as the “Frisco”, built a line from north to south through the Choctaw Nation
, connecting Fort Smith, Arkansas
with Paris, Texas
. The railroad paralleled the Kiamichi River
throughout much of its route in present-day Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. Train
stations were established every few miles to aid in opening up the land and, more particularly, to serve as the locations of section houses. Supervisors for their respective miles of track lived in the section houses to administer the track and its right-of-way. These stations also served as points at which the trains could draw water
.
The site of the future Kosoma was selected because of its proximity to the Kiamichi River, with its abundant water supply. Adjacent station stops were established at Wadena, four miles to the north, and Moyers
, three miles to the south.
The name Kosoma, which means "place of the stinking water" in the Choctaw language
, derives its name from prominent sulphur springs located nearby.
The sparsely-populated area, at that time known as Jack’s Fork County of the Choctaw Nation
, in the Indian Territory
, was home to Choctaw Indians who farmed or subsisted on the land. Few roads or trails existed. But with the railroad came white settlers, seeking commercial opportunities.
Kosoma became an immediate boomtown
, home to a thriving timber
industry. Sawmill
s were established in the mountains surrounding the town and the mills used Kosoma’s railroad depot as a transshipment
point. At its height Kosoma had numerous commercial establishments, including stores
, saloons, and doctor’s offices, as well as at least one dance hall
.
Transportation was provided by the Frisco Railroad, which offered six trains per day—three in each direction—until it closed to passenger traffic during the late 1950s. It continued freight operations until 1981, when it closed altogether and its rails
were removed.
The loss of passenger rail fortunately coincided with the construction of Oklahoma State Highway 2. It offered a paved, graded route all the way from Antlers to two miles north of Moyers, at the turn-off to Baugh’s Prairie and Big Mountain
. (It was later completed in the 1980s.) North of Kosoma the highway
remained unpaved and somewhat primitive until completion in the 1980s, crossing Pine Creek via a low-water bridge
and climbing the flank of Bull Run Mountain.
Until the advent of State Highway 2 overland transportation was problematic at best—particularly due to the need to ford Buck Creek, which occupies a steep valley from its headwaters in the Kiamichi Mountains
all the way to its confluence with the Kiamichi River.
A United States Post Office was established at Kosoma, Indian Territory on November 28, 1888, a testament to its early vitality so soon after the railroad opened. With the logging
of forests in the region Kosoma went into a steep decline during the early 1900s, culminating in the loss of its post office
in 1954.
At this writing Kosoma is a ghost town
with only two or three buildings still standing. These are found just off the short “Kosoma Loop” off State Highway 2 and have been subject to vandalism and theft by visitors, and neglect by current owners of the property.
During World War II
the Kosoma area was the site of two lethal air crashes. British pilots operating from a Royal Air Force
base in Texas, hampered by poor weather, crashed into White Rock Mountain and Big Mountain, killing four crew men. Two planes were destroyed. A third plane crash-landed successfully a few miles northwest at Jumbo
. On February 20, 2000 the AT6 Monument
was dedicated in the fliers' honor at the crash site on Big Mountain, just southeast of Kosoma. Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony, and the story was carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation and many newspapers around the world.
More information on Kosoma and the Kiamichi River valley may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society
.
Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
-Administrative History:* Ca. 1000-1500: Caddoan Mississippian civilization at Spiro Mounds* 1492-1718: Spain* 1718-1763: France* 1763-1800: Spain* 1800-1803: France* 1803–present: United States...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located just off Oklahoma State Highway 2, about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Antlers
Antlers, Oklahoma
Antlers is a city in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The population was 2,552 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pushmataha County.-Geography:Antlers is located at...
.
Geography
Kosoma is located in a rugged but scenic area. It is adjacent to the Kiamichi River at the base of Big MountainBig Mountain (Oklahoma)
Big Mountain is a mountain in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It is part of the Kiamichi Mountains, a subrange of the Ouachita Mountains.- Geology :...
, also known as Deer Mountain. Close by is Lost Mountain
Lost Mountain
Lost Mountain is a mountain in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, located approximately 10 miles northwest of Antlers, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Kiamichi Mountains, a subrange of the Ouachita Mountains...
, notable for its relative cone shape and location in the middle of the Kiamichi River valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
, apart from other mountains. The area of the valley floor on which Kosoma was built is bracketed by two locally prominent and well-watered streams: Buck Creek
Buck Creek (Kiamichi River tributary)
Buck Creek is a stream in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It flows generally southward from its headwaters in the western Kiamichi Mountains to its confluence with the Kiamichi River....
to the south and Pine Creek to the north.
History
A permanent settlement has existed at the site of modern Kosoma since at least the 1880s1880s
The 1880s was the decade that spanned from January 1, 1880 to December 31, 1889. They occurred at the core period of the Second Industrial Revolution. Most Western countries experienced a large economic boom, due to the mass production of railroads and other more convenient methods of travel...
. During the 1880s the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:...
, more popularly known as the “Frisco”, built a line from north to south through the Choctaw Nation
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...
, connecting Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
with Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
. The railroad paralleled the Kiamichi River
Kiamichi River
The Kiamichi River is a river in southeastern Oklahoma. A tributary of the Red River, its headwaters rise on Pine Mountain in the Ouachita Mountains near the Arkansas border...
throughout much of its route in present-day Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. Train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
stations were established every few miles to aid in opening up the land and, more particularly, to serve as the locations of section houses. Supervisors for their respective miles of track lived in the section houses to administer the track and its right-of-way. These stations also served as points at which the trains could draw water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
.
The site of the future Kosoma was selected because of its proximity to the Kiamichi River, with its abundant water supply. Adjacent station stops were established at Wadena, four miles to the north, and Moyers
Moyers, Oklahoma
- History :A permanent settlement has existed at the site of modern Moyers since at least the 1880s.During the 1880s the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, more popularly known as the “Frisco”, built a line from north to south through the Choctaw Nation, connecting Fort Smith, Arkansas with Paris,...
, three miles to the south.
The name Kosoma, which means "place of the stinking water" in the Choctaw language
Choctaw language
The Choctaw language, traditionally spoken by the Native American Choctaw people of the southeastern United States, is a member of the Muskogean family...
, derives its name from prominent sulphur springs located nearby.
The sparsely-populated area, at that time known as Jack’s Fork County of the Choctaw Nation
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...
, in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, was home to Choctaw Indians who farmed or subsisted on the land. Few roads or trails existed. But with the railroad came white settlers, seeking commercial opportunities.
Kosoma became an immediate boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
, home to a thriving timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
industry. Sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s were established in the mountains surrounding the town and the mills used Kosoma’s railroad depot as a transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
point. At its height Kosoma had numerous commercial establishments, including stores
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, saloons, and doctor’s offices, as well as at least one dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
.
Transportation was provided by the Frisco Railroad, which offered six trains per day—three in each direction—until it closed to passenger traffic during the late 1950s. It continued freight operations until 1981, when it closed altogether and its rails
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
were removed.
The loss of passenger rail fortunately coincided with the construction of Oklahoma State Highway 2. It offered a paved, graded route all the way from Antlers to two miles north of Moyers, at the turn-off to Baugh’s Prairie and Big Mountain
Big Mountain (Oklahoma)
Big Mountain is a mountain in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It is part of the Kiamichi Mountains, a subrange of the Ouachita Mountains.- Geology :...
. (It was later completed in the 1980s.) North of Kosoma the highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
remained unpaved and somewhat primitive until completion in the 1980s, crossing Pine Creek via a low-water bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
and climbing the flank of Bull Run Mountain.
Until the advent of State Highway 2 overland transportation was problematic at best—particularly due to the need to ford Buck Creek, which occupies a steep valley from its headwaters in the Kiamichi Mountains
Kiamichi Mountains
The Kiamichi Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Oklahoma. A subrange within the larger Ouachita Mountains that extend from Oklahoma to western Arkansas, the Kiamichi Mountains sit within Le Flore, Pushmataha, and McCurtain counties near the towns of Poteau and Albion...
all the way to its confluence with the Kiamichi River.
A United States Post Office was established at Kosoma, Indian Territory on November 28, 1888, a testament to its early vitality so soon after the railroad opened. With the logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
of forests in the region Kosoma went into a steep decline during the early 1900s, culminating in the loss of its post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
in 1954.
At this writing Kosoma is a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
with only two or three buildings still standing. These are found just off the short “Kosoma Loop” off State Highway 2 and have been subject to vandalism and theft by visitors, and neglect by current owners of the property.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Kosoma area was the site of two lethal air crashes. British pilots operating from a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
base in Texas, hampered by poor weather, crashed into White Rock Mountain and Big Mountain, killing four crew men. Two planes were destroyed. A third plane crash-landed successfully a few miles northwest at Jumbo
Jumbo, Oklahoma
Jumbo is a community in western Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, 10 miles north of Miller, Oklahoma.- History :A United States Post Office was established for Jumbo, Indian Territory on November 8, 1906...
. On February 20, 2000 the AT6 Monument
AT6 Monument
The AT6 Monument is a granite memorial to Royal Air Force cadets who were killed while on a training flight during World War II. It stands on Big Mountain, north of Moyers, Oklahoma, and was dedicated on February 20, 2000—the 58th anniversary of the deadly crashes.- Background :The United Kingdom...
was dedicated in the fliers' honor at the crash site on Big Mountain, just southeast of Kosoma. Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony, and the story was carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation and many newspapers around the world.
More information on Kosoma and the Kiamichi River valley may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society
Pushmataha County Historical Society
The Pushmataha County Historical Society is a historical society devoted to collecting and preserving the history of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma...
.