Cottonwood, Oklahoma
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the East Coal census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74538. It stands on Coon Creek. The Survey maps it on the Coalgate quadrangle. 117 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 604 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1896 USGS Coalgate quadrangle1:125000
- 1899 USGS Coalgate quadrangle1:125000
- 1900 USGS Coalgate quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Ardmore quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Coalgate quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Ardmore quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1990 USGS Ada quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
12 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Cottonwood between 1996 and 2018, burning about 1,540 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 65 acres | Talihina Agency | BUTLER |
| 7 March 2006 | Natural | 2.8 acres | Talihina Agency | EDEN |
| 22 March 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 27 February 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.3 acres | Talihina Agency | COALGROUND |
| 27 February 2006 | Natural | 4.5 acres | Talihina Agency | THORNBUSH |
| 26 February 2006 | Natural | 7.0 acres | Talihina Agency | BRADY |
| 19 February 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Chickasaw Agency | COALGATE1 |
| 19 February 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Chickasaw Agency | COALGATE2 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Cottonwood: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Sandstone Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
13 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottonwood in 13 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 8 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Cottonwood | 3 hurt, $25,000 | A brief QLCS tornado caused damage at a natural gas production facility that was under construction about 8 miles north-northeast of Coalgate. Multiple large shipping containers were blown over and light frame structures were damaged. Flying debris damaged numerous vehicles and injured 3 people. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $15,000 | Many trees and roofs were damaged. There was also some structural damage. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $5,000 | Five power lines were downed from strong winds near the intersection of Avazini and Polk roads. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | The report was relayed through mPING. The event time is adjusted based on radar observations. |
| November 2024 | Tornado (EFU) | Cottonwood | - | A storm chaser observed a cone-shaped tornado a few miles north of Atoka. No damage was reported, and based on radar data and the chaser report, this tornado was estimated to be just inside Coal County to the southeast of Coalgate and Cottonwood. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | MPing report. Based on radar evidence, hailfall likely occurred prior (1125-1130 LST) to report time. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | MPing report. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Reported along route 3. |
| May 2013 | Flash Flood | Cottonwood | - | Water over highway 37 at the Keel Creek bridge. No damage was reported. |
| March 2024 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| April 2022 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| October 2011 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Cottonwood | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q20657767 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1091706. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.






