Oleta, Oklahoma facts for kids
Oleta is a small, quiet place in the southeastern part of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, in the United States. It's not a city or town with its own government. Instead, it's called an unincorporated community. This means it's a group of homes and businesses that are part of the larger county. Oleta is located about 15 miles east of a town called Antlers.
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A Place with a Post Office
A United States Post Office is a building where people can send and receive mail. The Oleta Post Office first opened its doors on October 10, 1935. Having a post office was a big deal for the people living there. It made it easier for them to connect with others and get important letters.
How Oleta Got Its Name
Have you ever wondered how places get their names? For Oleta, there are a couple of stories!
The First Idea for the Name
A historian named George H. Shirk wrote a book in 1965 called Oklahoma Place Names. In his book, he suggested that Oleta was named after the first wife of a local businessman, Alvin J. Morris. However, it turned out that Mr. Morris's first wife was not named Oleta.
The True Story of the Name
Later on, Mr. Morris shared the real story with the Pushmataha County Historical Society. He explained that the community was actually named after a local person named Oleta Ashmore.
When a new post office was being set up, the people living in the area often got to choose its name. Postal officials usually agreed, as long as the name wasn't already used somewhere else in the state. Mr. Morris lived nearby when the Oleta post office was opening. He said that the residents decided to pick a name by drawing it from a hat. The name they drew was "Oleta," which was a special nod to Oleta Ashmore, who lived among them.
