Atoka, Oklahoma
| Atoka, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| City | |
The Atoka County Chamber of Commerce Building in Atoka.
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| Motto: "A City Committed to the Future" | |
 Location of Atoka, Oklahoma |
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| Coordinates: 34°23′3″N 96°7′39″W / 34.38417°N 96.12750°WCoordinates: 34°23′3″N 96°7′39″W / 34.38417°N 96.12750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Atoka |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Robert Frederick |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.5 sq mi (22.1 km2) |
| • Land | 8.3 sq mi (21.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 583 ft (177 m) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
| • Total | 3,107 |
| • Density | 372/sq mi (143.8/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 74525, 74542 |
| Area code(s) | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-03300 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1089746 |
| Website | atokaok |
Atoka is a city in, and the county seat of, Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,107 at the 2010 census, an increase of 4.0 percent from 2,988 at the 2000 census.
The city was settled by the Choctaw and named in 1867 by a Baptist missionary for Chief Atoka, whose name means "ball ground" in English.
Atoka was founded by the Choctaw Indians in the 1850s, and named for Captain Atoka, a leader of the Choctaw Nation and the signer of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, which began the process of re-locating the Choctaw people from Mississippi to Oklahoma in 1830. The name "Atoka" is derived from the Choctaw word hitoka (or hetoka), which means "ball ground" in English. He is believed to be buried near the town of Farris. Atoka is the site of the oldest Catholic parish in the Indian Territory, the oldest chapter of the Freemasons in Oklahoma, and the oldest chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star in Oklahoma.
A small Civil War confrontation occurred on February 13, 1864, north of Atoka. Early in 1864, Colonel William A. Philips set out with some 1,500 Union troops from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, to cut a swath through Confederate Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Their purpose was to break Confederate control over the Indian Territory and gain the support and possibly recruits from the Native Americans.
"I take you with me to clean out the Indian Nation south of the river and drive away and destroy rebels. Let me say a few words to you that you are not to forget .... Those who are still in arms are rebels, who ought to die. Do not kill a prisoner after he has surrendered. But I do not ask you to take prisoners. I ask you to make your footsteps severe and terrible. Muskogees! (Creeks) the time has now come when you are to remember the authors of all your sufferings; those who started a needless and wicked war .... Stand by me faithfully and we will soon have peace ...." -- Colonel William A. Philips, to his men before beginning the campaign
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