Wilburton, Oklahoma

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Wilburton
Wilburton, Oklahoma
Wilburton
Wilburton
Location in Oklahoma
Basic data
State : United States
State : Oklahoma
County : Latimer County
Coordinates : 34 ° 55 ′  N , 95 ° 19 ′  W Coordinates: 34 ° 55 ′  N , 95 ° 19 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents : 2,734 (as of 2014)
Population density : 355.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 7.7 km 2  (about 3 mi 2 ) of
which 7.7 km 2  (about 3 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 201 m
Postal code : 74578
Area code : +1 539,918
FIPS : 40-81000
GNIS ID : 1099754
Website : www.cityofwilburton.com
Mayor : Stephen Brinlee
Colony Park Pavilion.JPG
Colony Park Pavilion

Wilburton is a city and county seat of Latimer County in the US state of Oklahoma with 2734 inhabitants (2014).

geography

The nearest major city of Fort Smith in the neighboring state of Arkansas is about 100 kilometers away in the northeast. McAlester is 40 kilometers to the west. The Oklahoma State Highway 2 and US Highway 270 intersect in Wilburton.

history

Open-cast coal mine work, 1898

The region's native inhabitants were various Indian tribes , most of whom belonged to the Choctaw people . In 1890 the place was laid out as a stopover on the Butterfield Overland Mail - stagecoach route . The name Wilburton goes back with high probability to Will Burton, who was involved as an expert in the construction of a railway line for the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company . The main livelihood of the settlers was initially livestock farming. In the early 20th century , coal mining became the dominant industry. In the 1940s and 1950s, most of the coal was extracted from open-cast mining . Many of the miners needed came from Western Europe, most of them from Italy . The place has also been hit by some disasters. Several workers lost their lives in mine accidents and a sudden tornado in 1960 also claimed 13 lives .

Some historically valuable buildings and places from the early days of the place are listed on the National Register of Historic Places , including the Mitchell Hall (NR 80003270), the Rosenstein Building (NR 80003271) and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory (NR 80003272).

  • Mitchell Hall

  • Rosenstein Building

  • Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory

Demographic data

In 2014 a population of 2734 people was determined, which means a decrease of 8.0% compared to the year 2000. The average age of residents in 2014 was 30.8 years, below Oklahoma's average, which was 36.2 years. The share of the inhabitants that can be traced back to the indigenous people was 12.6% at that time.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History
  2. ↑ City data

Web links

Commons : Wilburton, Oklahoma  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files