McCurtain, OK

McCurtain is a town in Haskell County, Oklahoma, United States. A coal mine disaster in 1912 killed 73 miners and ended McCurtain's prosperity. The mine explosion remains one of the worst disasters in Oklahoma history. In McCurtain, history and present-day settings sit close enough to belong to the same local picture. The map tells the story in McCurtain, where earlier chapters remain visible in current streets, buildings, and gathering places. In 1889, coal deposits discovered in the area that would become southern Haskell County attracted some European miners and American entrepreneurs. They established a community called Panther, which was renamed in 1902 to honor Choctaw Principal Chief Green McCurtain. McCurtain is 57 miles east of McAlester and 28 miles south southwest of Sallisaw.