Latimer County, Oklahoma

68 topographic sheets and 10 fire insurance atlases across 2 places.

Research this county

From the record

20 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Oklahoma within the United States

Latimer County within Oklahoma

What the record shows

2 places in this county were surveyed for fire insurance: Red Oak, Wilburton, between 1899 and 1925.
10 fire insurance atlases survive for the county. Topographic coverage is national; fire insurance survey reached only incorporated places with something worth insuring.
339 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
20 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 13 buildings, 4 sites, 2 districts and 1 structure.
4 of the 20 listings were added during the 1970s.
The Geographic Names Information System records 21 populated places in this county; 21 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Property	Type	Listed	Reference
Administration Building	building	2010	10000626
Ash Creek School	building	1988	88001392
Bowers School	building	1988	88001393
Cambria School	building	1988	88001394
Colony Park Pavilion	structure	1988	88001395
Cupco Church	building	1980	80003273
Degnan School	building	1988	88001396
Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium	district	2011	10001008
Edwards Store	building	1972	72001069
Edwards-Hardaway Homestead and Cemetery	building	2021	100007234
Great Western Coal and Coke Company Building	building	1980	80003268
Great Western Coal and Coke Company Mine No. 3	site	1980	80003269
Holloway's Station	site	1972	72001070
Mitchell Hall	building	1980	80003270
Panola High School and Gymnasium	building	1988	88001397
Pusley's Station	site	1972	72001068
Riddle's Station Site	site	1972	72001072
Robbers Cave State Park	district	2002	96000489
Rosenstein Building	building	1980	80003271
Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Rectory	building	1980	80003272

The county from the air

28 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 590 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 28 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1964-04-10, scale 1:29000 — 1964-04-10, scale 1:29000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1965-02-19, scale 1:20000 — 1965-02-19, scale 1:20000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-03-18, scale 1:21000 — 1966-03-18, scale 1:21000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-02-08, scale 1:74000 — 1970-02-08, scale 1:74000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-01-20, scale 1:29000 — 1971-01-20, scale 1:29000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-03-17, scale 1:24000 — 1976-03-17, scale 1:24000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-20, scale 1:80000 — 1977-03-20, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

4 stations, 4 gages

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.

BENGAL 4 NNW 1900 to 2018, hottest 41.7 C, coldest -16.1 C
WILBURTON 9 ENE 1921 to 2004, hottest 45.0 C, coldest -26.7 C
WILBURTON 9.4 N 2013 to 2019
YANUSH 1.8 WNW 2016 to 2019

Fourche Maline near Red Oak, OK 1938 to 2026
Brazil Creek near Walls, OK 1978 to 1985
Fourche Maline near Wilburton, OK 1978 to 1981
Red Oak Creek near Red Oak, OK 1978 to 1982

The 1950 census, district by district

18 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

39-1Buffalo townships Buffalo township - That part east of State Highway 2, excluding Choctaw and Chickasaw Sanatorium
39-2Choctaw and Chickasaw Sanatorium (In Buffalo township)
39-3Buffalo township - That part west of State Highway 2
39-4Cravens township: Cravens township - That part north of Bandy Creek and Fourche Maline, outside Wilburton city
39-5Cravens township - That part south of Bandy Creek and Fourche Maline
39-6Damon township: Damon township - That part east of State Highway 2, excluding Spanish American War Colony Rest Home
39-7Spanish American War Colony Rest Home (Im Damon township)
39-8Damon township - That part west of State Highway 2
39-9Degnan township - Outside Wilburton city
39-10Gowen townships Gowen township - That part north and northwest of U.S. Highway 270
39-11Gowen township - That part south and southeast of U.S. Highway 270
39-12Red Oak town
39-13Red Oak township: Red Oak township - That part east of range line between Ranges 21 and 22 East in Townships 5, 6, and 7 North
39-14Red Oak township - That part west of range line between Ranges 21 and 22 East in Townships 5, 6, and 7 North, outside Red Oak town
39-15Salonia township: Salonia township, excluding Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium
39-16Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium (In Salonia township)
39-17Wilburton city: Wilburton city - That part north of U.S. Highway 270
39-18Wilburton city - That part south of U.S. Highway 270

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

3,303 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 3,303 of them, burning about 217,482 acres. 73 started naturally and 1,432 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Arson/incendiarism	1432
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1014
Debris and open burning	501
Equipment and vehicle use	133
Natural	73
Recreation and ceremony	65
Smoking	41
Misuse of fire by a minor	22
Railroad operations and maintenance	19
Power generation/transmission/distribution	2
Fireworks	1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. 6 of them were set deliberately.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
19 February 2016	Arson/incendiarism	10,436 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	not named
18 February 2016	Arson/incendiarism	5,540 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	not named
1 April 2003	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	4,080 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	HAIRPIN CURVE FIRE
23 February 1995	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3,920 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	not named
31 January 2011	Arson/incendiarism	3,600 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	20046
23 March 2018	Arson/incendiarism	2,700 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	not named
8 March 2013	Arson/incendiarism	2,100 acres	Talihina Agency	BIG HIGH TOP
23 March 2004	Arson/incendiarism	1,920 acres	Oklahoma Division of Forestry	SPLIT FIRE #2

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1957 to 2026

60 of 440 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 440 reports for this county, causing 14 deaths, 109 injuries and about $11,024,900 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	194
Thunderstorm Wind	162
Flash Flood	45
Tornado	31
Flood	4
Lightning	3
Funnel Cloud	1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 1960	Tornado (F4)	not stated	13 killed, 100 hurt, $2,500,000	no account filed
April 2017	Flash Flood	Drumb	1 killed	Several roads west of Wilburton were flooded. Highbridge Road was severely flooded at Beaver Creek. A woman drove into flood waters there, was washed downstream, and drowned.
May 2008	Tornado (EF2)	Higgins	4 hurt, $1,000,000	This tornado continued from Pittsburg County. As it moved into Latimer County, the tornado destroyed a double-wide mobile home, severely damaged another home and barn, and rolled an F350 pickup truck about 50 yards. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado approached Yanush. In Yanush, about 50 homes were damaged, eight of those were destroyed along with one business. Numerous sheds, barns, and outbuildings were destroyed. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
December 1975	Tornado (F2)	not stated	3 hurt, $2,500,000	no account filed
May 1992	Tornado (F2)	not stated	1 hurt, $250,000	no account filed
April 1968	Tornado (F1)	not stated	1 hurt, $25,000	no account filed
May 1960	Tornado (F4)	not stated	$2,500,000	no account filed
November 1988	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
April 1984	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
March 1976	Tornado (F4)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
May 2015	Tornado (EF2)	Veterans Colony	$100,000	A tornado damaged several homes, severely damaged a metal-framed outbuilding, damaged an oil drilling platform, destroyed barns and outbuildings, damaged the Cravens VFD building, and snapped or uprooted numerous trees. Based on this damage, estimated maximum wind in the tornado was 115 to 125 mph.
April 2009	Tornado (EF0)	Damon	$100,000	A tornado damaged a gas compressor station, damaged several homes, and damaged numerous trees. Several citizens viewed and photographed the tornado.
May 2006	Lightning	Red Oak	$100,000	Lightning struck a home and caused a fire. The fire destroyed the house.
January 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$80,000	Thunderstorm winds damaged several buildings and blew down trees across a large part of eastern Latimer County between Wilburton and Red Oak including the community of Cravens.One business in Wilburton known as The Auction House had its roof blown off and a few neighboring businesses had their plate glass windows broken. Throughout the county one mobile home and three barns were destroyed and five mobile homes and twelve barns were damaged. Numerous trees were blown down onto roads throughout the east part of the county including in the cities of Wilburton and Red Oak.
May 2025	Tornado (EF1)	Cambria	$75,000	This is the second segment of a two segment tornado. The tornado moved into Latimer County just south of Highway 1, and moved northeast across Highway 1, the 156th Road, and along the 136th Road, before turning more east and dissipating north of the 130th Road and east of Holson Road. In Latimer County, the tornado uprooted numerous trees, damaged or destroyed outbuildings, damaged homes, and snapped power poles. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Veterans Colony	$50,000	Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed a barn and blew down a tree onto a house.
August 2001	Lightning	Red Oak	$50,000	Lightning struck a house near Red Oak. The resulting fire destroyed the home.
April 2000	Hail	Wilburton	$50,000	Baseball size hail fell and damaged several cars and roofs.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$50,000	A small-scale microburst in Wilburton caused minor damage to 20 homes and nine businesses. Two commercial buildings sustained major damage. This includes roofs that were blown off of a laundromat on OK Hwy 2 North and the Wilburton Veterans of Foreign Wars Building. Many trees were uprooted, and many power lines were blown down by the high winds.
April 2009	Hail	Wilburton	$50,000	no account filed
February 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Damon	$45,000	Strong thunderstorm winds uprooted numerous trees which then fell onto homes, vehicles, outbuildings, and power lines. Snapped power lines caused a loss of power to areas south of Wilburton. There was substantial damage to two mobile homes and two permanent homes in the Damon Valley area about 5 miles south of Wilburton. At the home with the most damage, shingles were blown off the roof, an air conditioning unit was overturned, and falling trees destroyed two boats and two pickup trucks. Most other damage in the area was to storage buildings, barns, TV antennae, and numerous pine trees blown down.
April 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Bengal	$40,000	Strong thunderstorm wind uprooted trees and blew down power lines. Two cabins were destroyed by large trees falling onto them.
May 1999	Tornado (F1)	Panola	$40,000	An F1 tornado touched down south of Panola and moved northeast to the Latimer-Haskell county line. Ths tornado continued to a point in extreme southern Haskell County about 2 miles south of Lequire. Near Panola, this tornado blew down large trees and power lines, and it caused roof damage. After Panola, the tornado primarily affected sparsely-populated hilly terrain.
November 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton Arpt	$40,000	A hangar at the Wilburton Aiport had its sheet metal roof blown away. The winds moved the trailer of the airport groundskeeper off of its foundation. Winds also destroyed two ultra-light airplanes that were tied down, and two single-engine aircraft were also seriously damaged. A concession trailer was blown over. Just east of the airport near 3R and Ranch Road, another mobile home was moved from its foundation.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Yanush	$35,000	Thunderstorm wind resulted in at least $35,000 in damage to the utility infrastructure across the county during this severe thunderstorm.
November 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$30,000	A barn was nearly destroyed and two mobile homes were damaged just south of Wilburton. Power poles were blown down in the vicinity of US Hwy 270 and Arkla Road. Downed limbs and trees had to be removed from streets in Wilburton. The Wilburton Pizza Hut caught fire 30 minutes following the storm, though it is unknown if the fire is related to the storm.
April 2026	Hail	Bengal	$25,000	Golf ball size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
April 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$25,000	A shallow vortex, known as a gustnado, developed along the leading edge of thunderstorm outflow and damaged the roof of a church, snapped large tree limbs, and blew down a power pole. This vortex was recorded by a security camera.
January 2012	Flash Flood	Red Oak	$25,000	A road was washed out near NE 180 Road and NE 1188 Avenue.
April 2011	Tornado (EF1)	Bengal	$25,000	This is the first of two segments of this tornado. In Latimer County, this tornado damaged a home, severely damaged a barn, and snapped or uprooted a number of large trees. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 110 mph. The tornado continued into Le Flore County, Oklahoma.
March 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Oak	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 miles an hour destroyed a barn and damaged or destroyed three other equipment sheds.
June 2007	Hail	Wilburton	$25,000	no account filed
May 1986	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
April 1957	Tornado (F2)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
February 2023	Hail	Gowen	$20,000	Golf ball size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
April 2022	Hail	Bengal	$20,000	Ping pong ball size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
July 2002	Lightning	Wilburton	$20,000	Lightning struck a home and started a fire in the attic. Heavy smoke and water damage were common throughout the home. Six firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation and two were admitted to the hospital.
September 2001	Flash Flood	Wilburton	$20,000	Heavy thunderstorm rains caused major street flooding which stalled and stranded several vehicles. Later in the evening water from an overflowing stream surrounded a house at the depth of two feet.
April 2009	Hail	Panola	$20,000	no account filed
June 2023	Hail	Panola	$15,000	Ping pong ball size hail damaged homes and vehicles.
December 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Panola	$15,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roof of a mobile home.
April 2020	Hail	Wilburton Arpt	$15,000	Half dollar size hail damaged vehicles and the roofs of homes.
August 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Gowen	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour damaged three outbuildings and blew down numerous large tree limbs.
May 1997	Tornado (F1)	Wilburton	$15,000	no account filed
November 1998	Tornado (F0)	Red Oak	$11,000	An F0 tornado destroyed a barn, blew shingles off roofs, and downed numerous trees/power poles near Boggy.
May 2015	Tornado (EF1)	Bengal	$10,000	This is the second segment of a two segment tornado. In Latimer County, this tornado snapped or uprooted trees and blew down power poles. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton Arpt	$10,000	Strong thunderstorm wind flipped an airplane at Wilburton Municipal Airport.
March 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Oak	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 miles an hour blew down trees and power lines. Roofs of several buildings were damaged.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew the canopy off a gas station and blew down numerous trees.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down power lines.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Oak	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour tore the roof off a mobile home near Cravens.
October 1998	Flash Flood	Countywide	$10,000	Several city and county roads near Wilburton were closed by high water. At least two vehicles in Wilburton were stranded by high water. Parts of US Hwy 270 were partially under water.
June 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Gowen	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged the roofs of homes.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down several light poles, and snapped large tree limbs.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Panola	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind damaged a barn in Panola, and snapped numerous large tree limbs across the county.
May 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Red Oak	$5,000	A barn was damaged by strong thunderstorm wind.
April 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down several trees and power lines.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Gowen	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines.
April 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour did some minor damage to roofs of a few houses and damaged some tin attached to barns.
June 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wilburton	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees and power lines.

Mines and quarries

12 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 12 workings inside this county. 1 still produces and 11 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity	Workings
Flagstone	10
Sand and Gravel, Construction	2

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Site	Commodity	Status
Unknown Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer
Unknown Sandstone Pit	Flagstone	Past Producer

Every populated place in the county

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 2 places that were also surveyed for fire insurance come first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.

Red Oak

Red Oak census division · 74563 · On Coal Creek · Red Oak quadrangle

19 sheets, 1901 to 1991

Fire insurance: 5 atlases
Wilburton

Wilburton census division · 74578 · On Cunneo Tubby Creek · Wilburton quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991

Fire insurance: 5 atlases
Bengal

South Latimer census division · 74966 · On West Fork Rock Creek · Talihina quadrangle

18 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Bowers

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Gowen quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Cedar

Red Oak census division · 74563 · On Bear Creek · McCurtain SW quadrangle

15 sheets, 1900 to 1978
Center Point

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Wilburton quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Chilli

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Gowen quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Damon

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Damon quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Degnan

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Wilburton quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Denman

Red Oak census division · 74563 · Near Bull Hill · Red Oak quadrangle

19 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Drumb

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Gowen quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Gowen

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Gowen quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Higgins

South Latimer census division · 74578 · Higgins quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Hughes

Red Oak census division · 74966 · On Turkey Creek · Leflore quadrangle

16 sheets, 1900 to 1989
Lodi

Red Oak census division · 74563 · On McClure Creek · Lequire quadrangle

15 sheets, 1900 to 1978
Lutie

Wilburton census division · 74578 · On Bandy Creek · Wilburton quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Norris

Red Oak census division · 74563 · On Jefferson Creek · Leflore quadrangle

16 sheets, 1900 to 1989
Panola

Red Oak census division · 74578 · On Dry Creek · Panola quadrangle

19 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Patterson

Wilburton census division · 74578 · Gowen quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Veterans Colony

South Latimer census division · 74578 · Damon quadrangle

16 sheets, 1901 to 1991
Yanush

South Latimer census division · 74574 · Yanush quadrangle

15 sheets, 1901 to 1991

Recorded here

Red Oak, Oklahoma

19 topographic sheets and 5 fire insurance atlases, 1899 to 1913

Wilburton, Oklahoma

15 topographic sheets and 5 fire insurance atlases, 1904 to 1925

Provenance

Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.