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1898 Map of Mc Alester

Name: 1898 Topographic Map of Mc Alester
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1908
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1908

About this map

Mc Alester and the surrounding mining and railroad corridor dominate this late nineteenth-century survey of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory. The map documents a critical period of industrial expansion, centered on the east-west line of the Choctaw Oklahoma and Gulf RR which connects coal-producing settlements like Krebs, Alderson, Dow, and Hartshorne. To the south, the Missouri Kansas and Texas RR cuts a north-south path through the hills, passing through Savanna, Kiowa, and the passage at Limestone Gap.

Beyond the industrial nodes, the landscape transitions into the prominent ridges of Pine Mountain and Jackfork Mountain. Smaller, likely earlier settlements such as Perryville and Johnstown are visible along the rail lines, while the north is drained by Coal Creek and Brushy Creek. The inclusion of Belle Starr Mt. adds a layer of local lore to this precisely surveyed record of the territory's transition from tribal lands to a structured industrial hub.