Moyers, Oklahoma facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Moyers
Unincorporated community and Census designated place
Moyers Location in Oklahoma Show map of Oklahoma Moyers Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Pushmataha
Area
• Total	0.67 sq mi (1.74 km2)
• Land	0.66 sq mi (1.72 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	469 ft (143 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	60
• Density	90.36/sq mi (34.90/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
FIPS code	40-49750
GNIS feature ID	2805343

Moyers is a small, unincorporated community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, in the United States. An unincorporated community means it's a group of homes and businesses that isn't officially a town or city with its own local government.

History of Moyers

People have lived in the area where Moyers is now located since at least the 1880s.

The Arrival of the Railroad

In the 1880s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, also called the "Frisco" railroad, built tracks through the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. These tracks connected Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Paris, Texas. The railroad followed the Kiamichi River for much of its path through what is now Pushmataha County.

Train stations were built every few miles. These stations helped open up the land. They also served as places for "section houses." These houses were homes for supervisors who managed sections of the track. Trains could also stop at these stations to get water.

Moyers was chosen as a station site because it was close to the Kiamichi River. This river provided plenty of water for the trains. Other nearby stations were Kosoma, Oklahoma, to the north, and Davenport (now Kellond, Oklahoma) to the south.

Early Settlers and Industries

At first, this area was not very populated. It was known as Jack's Fork County, part of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. Choctaw Indians lived here, farming or living off the land. There were not many roads or trails. But the railroad brought new settlers, who were looking for business chances.

Kosoma quickly became a busy place, known for its timber industry. Sawmills were built in the mountains around Kosoma. These mills used Kosoma's train station to ship their wood. Moyers stayed small until Kosoma's timber ran out in the early 1900s.

Besides timber, other natural resources were important. An asphalt mine was started at Jumbo, which was northwest of Moyers. A special small railroad, called a tram, was built from Moyers to Jumbo. This tram carried railroad cars filled with asphalt from the mine to Moyers' station. Even though the tracks are gone now, you can still see the raised path of the tram near Moyers school.

How Moyers Got Its Name

The first time Moyers was mentioned in writing was in 1904. An Antlers newspaper called it "Moyer's Spur." This name might have referred to the tram, which was a "spur" (a short branch) off the main Frisco Railroad. "Moyer" was likely a reference to Roy Abraham Moyer, a local settler. The name officially became "Moyers" in 1910. Moyers got its own United States Post Office on June 7, 1895.

In 1907, the Gulf Pipe Line Company built a natural gas pipeline from the Texas coast. They built an important pumping station southwest of Moyers. This station helped keep the pipeline working for many miles. A large team of workers lived there, and they were popular with the people of Moyers and Antlers.

The Lumber Company Town

Lumber became very important for Moyers. The Walker-Hopkins Lumber Company started a business there. It was so successful that by 1911, they built a large new store and office. Over the years, Moyers became like a "company town." Walker-Hopkins owned many of the stores, homes, and much of the land in town.

They ran large lumber yards and a sawmill. This sawmill employed many local men. It gave Moyers an industrial look with chimneys, tall machines, and conveyors. The company stayed open until the 1950s. When it closed, Moyers began to decline.

Transportation Changes

The Frisco Railroad provided six trains a day (three in each direction) until the late 1950s, when it stopped carrying passengers. It continued to carry freight until 1981, when it closed completely and the tracks were removed.

Around the same time, Oklahoma State Highway 2 was built. This new paved road went from Antlers to north of Moyers. It was finished in the 1980s. Before this highway, traveling by road was very difficult. One person in 1926 said that the road near Rodney Mountain was so rough that a farmer's cream turned into butter on the way to town!

World War II Air Crashes

During World War II, two British planes crashed near Moyers. These pilots were flying from a Royal Air Force base in Texas. They crashed into White Rock Mountain and Big Mountain, and four crew members died. A third plane made a successful crash-landing at Jumbo.

On February 20, 2000, the AT6 Monument was placed on Big Mountain to honor these pilots. Over 1,000 people came to the ceremony. News about the monument was shared by the British Broadcasting Corporation and many newspapers worldwide.

Moyers Today

Today, Moyers has a post office, one general store, and one church. There are also many homes in the area. The community has its own public junior high and high school again, which it lost in the 1960s. These schools now teach children from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school's sports teams are called the Moyers Tigers and Lady Tigers. Over 100 years after the community was named, members of the Moyer family still live on the Moyer Ranch in Moyers.

Moyers' Landscape

Moyers is located in a very scenic area with different types of land. To the south is Rodney Mountain. To the immediate north is Parker Mountain, with the taller Whiterock Mountain behind it. East of Moyers is the Kiamichi River. To the west is a flatter area that connects to the Impson Valley.

Buck Creek is a reliable stream that flows from springs in the mountains north of Whiterock Mountain. It flows through a clear valley north of Moyers and joins the Kiamichi River. Ten Mile Creek, also spring-fed but more dependent on the seasons, flows east and south of Moyers.

Two important human-made structures are also part of the local landscape. These are the raised paths of the old tram railroad around Parker Mountain and the path of the former Frisco Railroad.

Population Information