Keota is a town in southeastern Haskell County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 438 at the 2020 census, a 22.3 percent decrease over the figure of 564 recorded in 2010.
History
The town was first called "KeeOtter", which was later changed to "Keota". The town's name may come from a Choctaw word meaning "the fire gone out", referring to an entire tribe being destroyed by disease, or may be derived from "Jim Keese", a rancher who owned the land where the townsite was located, and "Otter," for Otter Creek, a tributary of the Sans Bois Creek which winds its way through town.
Keota was founded in 1904 by the Midland Valley Railroad's land company, and a post office was established in 1905.
In 1971, the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System was established on the Arkansas River, about 10 miles north of Keota. A dam on the river created the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, which reaches to Keota. This enabled the Port of Keota to be established. Light industry was beginning to be drawn to the town at the end of the twentieth century, though by 2013, little remained of the port but a boatlaunch The railway had long been abandoned.
Geography
Keota is located west of Fort Smith, Arkansas and south southwest of Sallisaw.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Keota had a population of 437. The median age was 37.5 years. 26.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 79.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.2 males age 18 and over.
There were 161 households in Keota, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.9% were married-couple households, 17.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
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| White || 319 || 73.0%
|-
| Black or African American || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 82 || 18.8%
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| Asian || 1 || 0.2%
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| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
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| Some other race || 4 || 0.9%
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| Two or more races || 31 || 7.1%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 11 || 2.5%
|}
2000 census
As of the census