Valliant, Oklahoma
Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Valliant is a town in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 819 at the 2020 census,<ref name="Census 2020"/> up from 754 in 2010.
History
Valliant was founded June 2, 1902, in what was the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, and named for Frank W. Valliant, a chief divisional engineer for the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway then being constructed in the area.<ref name="EOHC-Valliant">Smith, Joy McDougal and Sharon McKeever. "Valiant." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed October 11, 2018.</ref> At the time of its founding, Valliant was located in Towson County, a part of the Apukshunnubbee District, one of three administrative super-regions comprising the Choctaw Nation.
A cotton gin opened in 1903, and continued operation until the 1930s. In 1904, the town incorporated and elected its first mayor. A newspaper began publishing in 1905. By 1920, the community had two banks, three hotels and nearly 20 other businesses.<ref name="EOHC-Valliant"/>
Dierks Forests, Inc., known until 1954 as the Dierks Lumber and Coal Company<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net">Template:Cite web</ref> and originally known as Choctaw Lumber Co.,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was a timber harvesting and processing company primarily in Oklahoma and Arkansas which started with a purchase of forest in 1903 near Valliant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The company grew to own 1.75 million acres of timberland, making it one of the largest family-owned landholding entities in the United States before it was sold to the Weyerhaeuser Company in 1969.<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net"/>
Pine Creek Dam was built nearby in the 1960s to control flooding along the stream. Pine Creek Lake and the Pine Creek Wildlife Management Area, Template:Convert north of town, have attracted vacationers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Chamber of Commerce of Valiant, Oklahoma. "History." Undated. Accessed October 11, 2018.</ref>
Geography
The town is located in southwestern McCurtain County on U.S. Route 70, Template:Convert from the Choctaw - McCurtin county line. It is Template:Convert north of the Red River and the Oklahoma-Texas state line. Idabel is Template:Convert southeast on Route 70, and Hugo is Template:Convert to the west.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Valliant has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert, or 0.31%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2024"/> The town sits on high ground which drains south toward Garland Creek, a direct tributary of the Red River, and north Sand Springs Branch and Little White Oak Creek, tributaries of the Little River, itself part of the Red River watershed.
Demographics
Template:US Census population According to the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, Valliant residents included 771 people, 315 households, and 194 families residing in the town. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 351 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the town was 75.49% White, 9.21% African American, 10.77% Native American, 0.52% from other races, and 4.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.
There were 315 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 74.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 64.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $18,393, and the median income for a family was $26,058. Males had a median income of $24,125 versus $17,344 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,380. About 24.3% of families and 31.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 28.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The economic base of the town has been agriculture. Early-day crops were cotton and grains. Cotton began to decline after 1930, so the land was shifted into pasture and forage for feeding cattle. Forest products became important in the 1970s, when Weyerhaeuser Co., a paper products company opened a paperboard plant and a paper mill, making it the largest employer in town.<ref name="EOHC-Valliant"/>Template:Efn
Transportation
Valliant is served by US Route 70 and Old State Highway 98, a prior alignment of the current Oklahoma State Highway 98.<ref name="Valliant, Oklahoma">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The town is a rail connection point, with the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad, Kiamichi Railroad, and WFEC Railroad all having interchange points at the location.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McCurtain County Regional Airport (FAA ID: 4o4) is about Template:Convert southeast and features a Template:Convert paved runway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Valliant, Oklahoma"/> Commercial air service is available out of Texarkana Regional Airport, about Template:Convert southeast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notes
References
<references />