Atoka County, Oklahoma

Atoka County, Oklahoma
The Atoka County Courthouse in Atoka.
Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location in the U.S.
Founded	1907
Seat	Atoka
Largest city	Atoka
Area
• Total	990 sq mi (2,564 km2)
• Land	976 sq mi (2,528 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (36 km2), 1.5%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	13,898
• Density	15/sq mi (6/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,007. Its county seat is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named Atoka.

The area encompassed by the present Atoka County was originally part of Shappaway County in the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation. About 1854, the area was formally designated Atoka County. The name, which honored Choctaw Chief Atoka, a leader of a party which migrated from Georgia to Indian Territory, was retained when Oklahoma became a state.

In 1858, the Butterfield and Overland established a stage route through the area. One station, Waddell's was near Wesley, a second station, Geary's was between Waddell's and the Muddy Boggy River, while a third was at Boggy Depot.

During the Civil War, Confederate troops established a supply depot named Camp Boggy Depot. After the war, the town of Atoka was established. In 1872, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (nicknamed the Christopher Casey) built a track through the county. It bypassed Boggy Depot and passed through Atoka, increasing the importance of Atoka and contributing to the decline of Boggy Depot.

The economy of Atoka County has been largely built on coal mining, limestone quarrying, forestry and agriculture. Cattle raising became the leading business in the mid-twentieth century. A major employer is the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Farm (renamed the Mack H. Alford Correctional Center), a medium security prison that opened in 1933.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 990 square miles (2,600 km²), of which 976 square miles (2,530 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (1.5%) is water.

Atoka County is drained by North Boggy, Clear Boggy and Muddy Boggy Creeks, which are tributaries of the Red River. Atoka Reservoir is in the northern section of the county. The Ouachita Mountains are in the eastern part of the county, while the Sandstone Hills and Coastal Plains physiographic regions provide a more level terrain suitable for agriculture in the north and western part of the county.