Pumpkin Center, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pumpkin Center
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 Pumpkin Center
Location in Oklahoma
Pumpkin Center
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Okmulgee |
| Elevation | 659 ft (201 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1100768 |
Pumpkin Center is a small, unincorporated community in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. An "unincorporated community" means it's a group of homes and businesses that isn't officially a city or town with its own local government. It is located about 10 miles northeast of the city of Okmulgee. You can reach it by taking N 330 Rd. north off US Highway 62.
What is Pumpkin Center?
Pumpkin Center is a quiet place where people live. It's not a big city or a formally organized town. Instead, it's a collection of homes and possibly a few businesses that are part of the larger Okmulgee County.
Many Places Named Pumpkin Center
It might sound confusing, but there are actually several places called Pumpkin Center! The one in Okmulgee County is just one of them. For example, there's another Pumpkin Center in Comanche County, Oklahoma, near Lawton. There's also one in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, close to Muskogee, and another in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, near Braggs.
Why So Many Pumpkin Centers?
The name "Pumpkin Center" became very popular because of a famous spoken-word artist named Cal Stewart. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, he created a character called Uncle Josh Weathersby. Uncle Josh was a bit silly and came from a fictional town called "Pumpkin Center" or "Punkin Center."
Cal Stewart's recordings described funny stories about life in this fictional Pumpkin Center. They also talked about Uncle Josh's adventures when he visited big cities like New York City. Because these stories were so popular, many real communities across the United States ended up being named Pumpkin Center.
Today, there are at least 31 communities named Pumpkin Center! You can find them in 16 different states, including:
- Alabama (3)
- Arizona (2)
- California (2)
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana (2)
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Missouri (2)
- Mississippi
- North Carolina (3)
- Oklahoma (4)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (3)
- Virginia (2)
