1898 Map of McAlester

About this map

McAlester and the surrounding coal mining district of the Choctaw Nation anchor this late 19th-century landscape. The region's early industrial footprint is defined by the Choctaw Oklahoma and Gulf RR and the Missouri Kansas and Texas RR, which facilitated the growth of company towns such as Krebs, Alderson, and Hartshorne. South of the urban centers, the terrain transitions into the steep ridges of Pine Mountain and Jackfork Mountain, where landmarks like Limestone Gap and Belle Starr Mt. stand out against the drainage of Boggy Creek and Jackfork Creek. A notable historical detail is the presence of Perryville and Johnstown, documenting the settlement patterns of Indian Territory before statehood. The map also records the location of numerous survey benchmarks, providing a precise topographic view of the territory as it was surveyed in the mid-1890s.