Idabel, Oklahoma

This map shows cabins and places to stay in Idabel, with prices. Add your dates to see what's open.

Broken Bow and Hochatown sit in McCurtain County, in the far southeast corner of Oklahoma. Arkansas is to the east. Texas is to the south, across the Red River. The county covers about 1,900 square miles, making it the third-largest county in the state. It had 30,814 people in the 2020 census.

The land changes as you head south. The north is rugged Ouachita Mountain foothills. The south flattens out into the Red River valley. In between are a big lake, a cold trout river, a state park and small towns with deep Choctaw and timber roots.

Idabel is the county seat of McCurtain County. It had 6,961 people in the 2020 census. It is about 12 road miles south of Broken Bow.

How Idabel got its name

Idabel began in 1902 as a railroad town called Purnell, after railroad official Isaac Purnell. Postal officials turned that name down. So the post office opened as Bokhoma, Choctaw for "Red River." Railroad officials then joined the names of Purnell's daughters, Ida and Bell. The post office became Idabel in 1904.

Museum of the Red River

The Museum of the Red River in Idabel has been free since 1974. It shows art and objects from long ago, from many lands, with a focus on Native American peoples. Look for the cast of Acrocanthosaurus atokensis ("Acro" for short), Oklahoma's state dinosaur, a meat-eater nearly 40 feet long. The most complete skeleton ever found was dug up in 1983, less than 20 miles from the museum. It is closed Mondays and national holidays.

Wetlands and birds

South of Idabel near Haworth, Red Slough Wildlife Management Area has about 2,400 acres of wetlands. More than 300 bird species have been seen there. Bald eagles are seen often, and alligators turn up now and then.

Eagletown

Eagletown is about 11 miles east of Broken Bow on U.S. 70, near the Mountain Fork River. It was one of the first places Choctaw families made homes after the forced removal. About 3 miles west of town stands the Jefferson Gardner House. Work on it began in 1884, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gardner served as Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1894 to 1896.

The Choctaw Nation

McCurtain County lies inside the Choctaw Nation Reservation. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, signed in 1830, began the forced removal of the Choctaw people from Mississippi and Alabama. From 1831 to 1833, about 15,000 Choctaw people were forced west. As many as one in three died on the way. The Choctaw Nation calls it the "Trail of Tears and Death."

The county is named for the McCurtain family. Three McCurtains served as principal chiefs. Even the name "Oklahoma" is Choctaw. Okla means "people" and humma means "red." Near Millerton, Wheelock Academy Historic Site is where Choctaw students went to school and lived from 1832 to 1955. It is a National Historic Landmark.

Find places to eat in the county seat on our Idabel restaurants page.