Bokoshe, Oklahoma
| Bokoshe, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Location of Bokoshe, Oklahoma |
|
| Coordinates: 35°11′17″N 94°47′26″W / 35.18806°N 94.79056°WCoordinates: 35°11′17″N 94°47′26″W / 35.18806°N 94.79056°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Le Flore |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2) |
| • Land | 0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 515 ft (157 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 512 |
| • Density | 1,024.0/sq mi (365.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 74930 |
| Area code(s) | 539/918 |
| FIPS code | 40-07450 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1090373 |
Bokoshe (/bəˈkoʊʃə/ bə-KOH-shə) is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bokoshe is a Choctaw word meaning "little creek." The population was 512 at the 2010 census, a 13.8 percent gain from 450 at the 2000 census.
Bokoshe was a Choctaw settlement in 1886, when a post office was established here with William A. Sanner serving as the first Postmaster. The principal business was a coal mine that employed ten miners. By 1900, the population was 153. The Ft. Smith and Western Railroad built tracks in 1901 to this area to ship the coal elsewhere. The Midland Valley Railroad built its own line in 1903 - 1904. The town moved south from its initial location to the intersection of the two railroads. Two other coal mines soon opened nearby, and the population grew to 483 by 1910. By 1920, the census reported a population of 869.
Bokoshe's mines fared better during the Great Depression than those elsewhere in the state. By 1930, the population had declined to 690, and continued dropping to 431 in 1960. The coal industry recovered and the town's population rebounded to 588 in 1970, then fell again to 403 in 1990. The population was 450 in 2000 and 512 in 2010.
In 2013, the residents of Bokoshe filed a class-action lawsuit against 50 companies after millions of gallons of fracking wastewater had been discharged in the town.
Bokoshe is located at 35°11′17″N 94°47′26″W / 35.18806°N 94.79056°W (35.188150, -94.790519).
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Wikipedia