Boggy Depot, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Boggy Depot is a ghost town
and Oklahoma State Park that was formerly a significant city in the Indian Territory
. It grew as a vibrant and thriving town in present day Atoka County
, Oklahoma
, United States
and became a major trading center on the Texas Road
and the Butterfield Overland Mail
route between Missouri
and San Francisco. After the American Civil War
when the MKT Railroad came through it bypassed Boggy Depot and the town began a steady decline. It was soon replaced by Atoka
as the chief city in the area. By the early 1900s all that remained of the community was a sort of ghost town.
and Chicasaw Indians in 1837. The United States government had removed the Choctaws and Chickasaws from Mississippi
and Alabama
to relocate them in the new Indian Territory, including the area of Boggy Depot, in the 1830s. While at first the Choctaws and Chickasaws lived together jointly on the Choctaw land the Chickasaws later emigrated to the western portions of the Indian Territory and eventually formed their own separate nation on land transferred to them by the Choctaw.
In 1834, General Henry Leavenworth
built the military road from Camp Washita (later Fort Washita
) to Fort Gibson
. For years this road was generally the division between the Choctaw and Chickasaw lands. Afterwards a treaty created a formal dividing line between the nations, with Boggy Depot on the east side of the line in Choctaw lands. Reverend Cyrus Kingsbury established the church in Boggy Depot in 1840. The church building was the temporary capitol of the Choctaw Nation in 1859. Boggy Depot received a post office
in 1848, and in 1858 became a stop on the Butterfield Overland Stage line. During the Civil War a Union
raiding party fought a Confederate
group at the Battle of Middle Boggy Depot
a few miles northeast of Boggy Depot. After the Civil War with Boggy Depot clearly in the Choctaw Nation many of the original settlers, mostly Chickasaws, abandoned Boggy Depot. A small community formed near this time two miles (3 km) south of Boggy Depot named New Boggy Depot. Choctaw Chief
Allen Wright
, who lived at Boggy Depot, coined the word 'Oklahoma' in 1866 to describe the Indian Territory. The name was officially used for the state in 1907: In 1869 Oklahoma's first Masonic Lodge
was founded in Boggy Depot.
As part of the treaty between the Five Civilized Tribes
and the United States government at the end of the Civil War the tribes had to allow a north to south railroad to be constructed across their lands. This railroad became a reality in 1872. The Missouri, Kansas, and, Texas railroad, or Katy, ran 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Boggy Depot and was the end of the town's importance. The city of Atoka, on the railroad, flourished while Boggy Depot languished.
and from its use as a Confederate commissary depot during the Civil War. The park features a fishing lake, nature trail, baseball diamond, playground, picnic tables, group picnic shelters, charcoal grills, and comfort stations with showers. Boggy Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places
(#72001050) in 1972.
from the grunge
band Alice in Chains
named his first Solo album
Boggy Depot
, after where his father grew up.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
and Oklahoma State Park that was formerly a significant city in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. It grew as a vibrant and thriving town in present day Atoka County
Atoka County, Oklahoma
Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and was formed in 1907 from Choctaw Lands. As of 2000, the population is 13,879. Its county seat is Atoka.-Geography:...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and became a major trading center on the Texas Road
Texas Road
The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route across Texas, Indian Territory Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It was the first Texas North South Cattle Drive...
and the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
route between Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and San Francisco. After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
when the MKT Railroad came through it bypassed Boggy Depot and the town began a steady decline. It was soon replaced by Atoka
Atoka, Oklahoma
Atoka is a city in Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,052 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Atoka County.-Geography:Atoka is located at ....
as the chief city in the area. By the early 1900s all that remained of the community was a sort of ghost town.
History
The town was founded by ChoctawChoctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Chicasaw Indians in 1837. The United States government had removed the Choctaws and Chickasaws from Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to relocate them in the new Indian Territory, including the area of Boggy Depot, in the 1830s. While at first the Choctaws and Chickasaws lived together jointly on the Choctaw land the Chickasaws later emigrated to the western portions of the Indian Territory and eventually formed their own separate nation on land transferred to them by the Choctaw.
In 1834, General Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians...
built the military road from Camp Washita (later Fort Washita
Fort Washita
Fort Washita is the former United States military post and National Historic Landmark located near Nida, Oklahoma on SH 199. Established in 1842 by General Zachary Taylor to protect citizens of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations from the plains indians it was later abandoned by Federal forces at...
) to Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson, now located in Oklahoma and designated Fort Gibson Historical Site, guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 until 1890...
. For years this road was generally the division between the Choctaw and Chickasaw lands. Afterwards a treaty created a formal dividing line between the nations, with Boggy Depot on the east side of the line in Choctaw lands. Reverend Cyrus Kingsbury established the church in Boggy Depot in 1840. The church building was the temporary capitol of the Choctaw Nation in 1859. Boggy Depot received a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
in 1848, and in 1858 became a stop on the Butterfield Overland Stage line. During the Civil War a Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
raiding party fought a Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
group at the Battle of Middle Boggy Depot
Battle of Middle Boggy Depot
The Battle of Middle Boggy Depot took place on February 13, 1864 in Choctaw Indian Territory, north of what is now Atoka, Oklahoma. While waiting for reinforcements, Union Colonel William A. Phillips sent out an advance of approximately 350 men from the 14th Kansas Cavalry and two howitzers to...
a few miles northeast of Boggy Depot. After the Civil War with Boggy Depot clearly in the Choctaw Nation many of the original settlers, mostly Chickasaws, abandoned Boggy Depot. A small community formed near this time two miles (3 km) south of Boggy Depot named New Boggy Depot. Choctaw Chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
Allen Wright
Allen Wright
For the Bicktertonite figure see Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ Allen Wright was Principal chief of the Choctaw from Fall 1866 to 1870. He also became a Christian minister after conversion. He has been credited with the name "Oklahoma" for the land that would become the state.- References :...
, who lived at Boggy Depot, coined the word 'Oklahoma' in 1866 to describe the Indian Territory. The name was officially used for the state in 1907: In 1869 Oklahoma's first Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
was founded in Boggy Depot.
As part of the treaty between the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
and the United States government at the end of the Civil War the tribes had to allow a north to south railroad to be constructed across their lands. This railroad became a reality in 1872. The Missouri, Kansas, and, Texas railroad, or Katy, ran 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Boggy Depot and was the end of the town's importance. The city of Atoka, on the railroad, flourished while Boggy Depot languished.
Today
Today little is left of the original town except for a few stone foundations and the cemetery. Boggy Depot State Park 34°19′14"N 96°18′28"W is a recreation area that commemorates the old town and the history of the area. The park gets its name from Clear Boggy CreekClear Boggy Creek
Clear Boggy Creek, also known as the Clear Boggy River, is a creek in southeastern Oklahoma that is a tributary of Muddy Boggy Creek.-Geography:According to some sources, Clear Boggy Creek joins with Muddy Boggy Creek to form the Boggy River...
and from its use as a Confederate commissary depot during the Civil War. The park features a fishing lake, nature trail, baseball diamond, playground, picnic tables, group picnic shelters, charcoal grills, and comfort stations with showers. Boggy Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(#72001050) in 1972.
Media
Jerry CantrellJerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...
from the grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
named his first Solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
Boggy Depot
Boggy Depot
Boggy Depot is the debut solo album by Alice in Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. It was released on April 7, 1998 through Columbia Records.-Background:...
, after where his father grew up.
Further reading
- Morris, John W. Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977).
- Wright, Muriel H. "Old Boggy Depot", Chronicles of Oklahoma5:1 (March 1927) 4-17 (retrieved August 16, 2006).
- Bostic, E. McCurdy. "Elizabeth Fulton Hester", Chronicles of Oklahoma6:4 (December 1928) 449-452 (retrieved November 19, 2008).
- Foreman, Grant. Down the Texas Road: Historic Places along Highway 69 Through Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1936).
- Lewis, Anna. "Trading Post at the Crossing of the Chickasaw Trails", Chronicles of Oklahoma12:4 (December 1934) 447-453 (retrieved November 19, 2008).
- Meserve, John Bartlett. "Governor William Malcolm Guy", Chronicles of Oklahoma19:1 (March 1941) 10-13 (retrieved November 19, 2008).
- Wright, Muriel H. and LeRoy H. Fischer. "Civil War Sites in Oklahoma," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 44 (Summer 1966).
- Wright, Muriel H. "Historic Places on the Old Stage Line from Fort Smith to Red River" The Chronicles of Oklahoma 11:2 (June 1933).