Le Flore County

Le Flore County, Oklahoma
LeFlore County Courthouse in Poteau
Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location in the U.S.
Founded	1907
Named for	An influential Choctaw Indian family
Seat	Poteau
Largest city	Poteau
Area
• Total	1,609 sq mi (4,167 km2)
• Land	1,589 sq mi (4,115 km2)
• Water	19 sq mi (49 km2), 1.2%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	49,774
• Density	32/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Le Flore County is a county located along the eastern border of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,384. Its county seat is Poteau. The name honors a Choctaw family named LeFlore.

Le Flore County is part of the Fort Smith, AR-OK Metropolitan Statistical Area. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma is the federal district court with jurisdiction in Le Flore County.

The Choctaw Nation signed the Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820, ceding part of their ancestral home in the Southeastern U. S. and receiving a large tract in Indian Territory. They signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, which ceded the remainder of their original land and caused the removal of all Choctaws who had not voluntarily migrated to the tribe's new territory.

In 1832, the Federal Government constructed the Choctaw Agency in Indian Territory about 15 miles (24 km) west of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The town of Skullyville grew up around the agency. The town housed Indian agents and was a stage stop (Walker's Station) for the Butterfield Overland Mail route. It was also the Choctaw capitol for a time. In 1834, the U. S. Army built Fort Coffee a few miles north of Skullyville, but closed it in 1838. The idled fort then became the Fort Coffee Academy for Boys, operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church. That church also opened the New Hope Seminary for Girls in 1845, just east of town. In 1847, the Choctaw Agency burned and its functions were transferred to Fort Washita.