Nelson, Oklahoma

Nelson is an unincorporated community in northwestern Choctaw County, Oklahoma, United States.[1] It is six miles north of Soper.

Nelson, Oklahoma
Unincorporated community
Nelson
Location within the state of Oklahoma
Nelson
Nelson (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°07′38″N 95°41′07″W
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountyChoctaw
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID1100669

Spencer Academy, a Choctaw Nation school, was moved here from Spencerville. A United States Post Office was established at Nelson, Indian Territory on March 10, 1881 and operated until November 30, 1954. Until September 15, 1881, the official name of this post office was Nelsons. Nelson is named for Cole E. Nelson, prominent Choctaw Indian and National Attorney of the Choctaw Nation.[2]

Until the advent of Oklahoma's statehood Nelson was located in Kiamitia County (Kiamichi County), a part of the Apukshunnubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.[3]

Nelson's livelihood as a commercial and population center was threatened after the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway built its tracks east of Nelson, passing instead through the communities of Antlers, Hamden, Speer and Hugo. Although it retained a lively community for decades following the railroad's construction in the 1880s, the towns along the railroad sapped it of potential commercial success.

Nelson continues to be home to several families, and as such remains the area's oldest settlement.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nelson, Oklahoma
  2. George H. Shirk, Oklahoma Place Names, p. 148; Angie Debo, Rise and Fall of the Choctaw Republic, p. 127; Post Office Site Location Reports, Record Group 28, National Archives.
  3. Morris, John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1986), plate 38.


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