McCurtain County is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,814. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. The name honors an influential Choctaw family who lived in the area. Jackson McCurtain and Edmund McCurtain served in the Confederate Army before their terms as chief, while Green McCurtain was the last chief when Oklahoma became a state in 1907.
History
left|thumb|McCurtain County National Bank in [[Broken Bow, Oklahoma|Broken Bow, Oklahoma ]]
The area now included in McCurtain County was part of the Choctaw Nation before Oklahoma became a state. The territory of the present-day county fell within the Apukshunnubbee District, one of three administrative superregions comprising the Choctaw Nation, and was divided among six of its counties: Bok Tuklo, Cedar, Eagle, Nashoba, Red River, and Towson. In the 1820s, it was a major part of Miller County, Arkansas Territory.
The area was sparsely populated, with no roads or bridges and no towns. Post offices were established at small trading posts along the various trails. Towns began to form when the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) was built across the area in 1902. Between 1910 and 1921, the Choctaw Lumber Company laid tracks for the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad from Valliant, Oklahoma, to DeQueen, Arkansas. These roads still served the area at the beginning of the 21st century.
Death of Henry Lee Johnson
Henry Lee Johnson was a 15-year-old boy who was murdered in 1980 in Idabel after entering the parking lot of the Black Hat Club, a "whites-only club". His murder resulted in a riot in Idabel that left two more men dead.
2023 audio recording scandal
In April 2023, the McCurtain Gazette-News released audio recordings of discussions among local officials about hiring a hit man to murder the paper's publisher and a reporter, Chris Willingham, and lamenting that lynching Black people was no longer acceptable. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said that he was "both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County". Stitt called for the local officials to resign, including "McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix." Over 100 people gathered outside the county courthouse calling on the officials to resign.
Jennings resigned on April19. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident.
Geography
thumb|Map of McCurtain County, 1909
thumb|Spillway at Broken Bow Lake
McCurtain County's location in southeastern Oklahoma places it within a 10-county area designated for tourism purposes by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as Choctaw Country. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which (2.8%) are covered by water.
It is the third-largest county in Oklahoma by area.
The county also contains the McCurtain County Wilderness Area, a 14,087-acre tract created in 1918 and managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the Little River National Wildlife Refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The county contains the location (Smithville) with the highest annual average precipitation in the state, at 55.71 inches.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 70
- 25px U.S. Highway 259
- 20px State Highway 3
- 20px State Highway 4
- 20px State Highway 37
- 20px State Highway 87
- 20px State Highway 98
Adjacent counties
- Le Flore County (north)
- Polk County, Arkansas (northeast)
- Sevier County, Arkansas (east)
- Little River County, Arkansas (southeast)
- Bowie County, Texas (south)
- Red River County, Texas (southwest)
- Choctaw County (west)
- Pushmataha County (northwest)
National protected areas
- Little River National Wildlife Refuge
- Ouachita National Forest (part)