Checotah is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Samuel Checote, the first chief of the Creek Nation elected after the Civil War. Its population was 3,018 at the 2020 census,

Checotah is home to numerous antique malls, a Civil War battle site, and a downtown historic district. Checotah claims to be the steer wrestling capital of the world. Early boosters called Checotah "The Gem of the Prairie".

History

upright|left|thumb|A street scene in Checotah around 1900

The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (also known as the MKT or Katy) established a railhead on the old Texas Road in 1872 that became the site of present-day Checotah. Although it was named "Checote Switch" for Samuel Checote, a later mapmaker spelled the name as Checotah. The town was chartered by the Creek Nation in 1893. The Dawes Commission held its first meeting here.

Checotah was on the route of the Jefferson Highway established in 1915, with that road running more than from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Geography

Checotah is located in northeastern McIntosh County at an elevation of northeast of the intersection of Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 69. I-40 leads east to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and west to Oklahoma City, while US 69 leads north to Muscogee and south to Eufaula.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.71%, are covered by water.

There were 1,233 households in Checotah, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.4% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Percent

|-

| White || 60.6%

|-

| Black or African American || 4.1%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 19.5%

|-

| Asian || 0.9%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || <0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 1.7%

|-

| Two or more races || 13.3%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 4.0%

|}

2000 census

As of the census which is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast of town.

  • American Idol winner Carrie Underwood wrote a song on her album Some Hearts called "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore". It includes references to the local high-school team (Wildcats), Highways 69 and 40, the Okra Fest (no longer held), and Eufaula Lake.

Notable people

  • Paul H. Carr, Silver Star recipient
  • Woody Crumbo, Native American artist; lived and worked in Checotah
  • Merle Haggard's parents James Francis Haggard and Flossie Mae Harp
  • Jim G. Lucas (1914–1970), journalist and war correspondent, winner of Pulitzer Prize in Journalism