Hugo, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Broadway Street in Hugo | |
| Nickname(s): Circus City, USA | |
 Location of Hugo, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates:34°00′42″N95°30′42″W / 34.01167°N 95.51167°W /34.01167; -95.51167 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Choctaw |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.33 sq mi (16.39 km2) |
| • Land | 6.31 sq mi (16.34 km2) |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
| Elevation | 551 ft (168 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,166 |
| • Density | 818.83/sq mi (316.13/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code | 74743 |
| Area code | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-36300[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2410805[2] |
| Website | hugook |
Hugo is a city in and thecounty seat ofChoctaw County,Oklahoma, United States. It is located in southeastern Oklahoma, approximately 9 miles (14 km) north of theTexas state line. As of the2020 census, the city population was 5,166.[4]
The city was founded in 1901 and named for the French novelistVictor Hugo.[5] In the postwar 20th century, the city served as winter quarters for somecircus companies and performers. A cemetery has a section for circus personnel. Nearby is one of the oldest boarding schools west of the Mississippi:Goodland Academy, begun in 1848 as aPresbyterian mission, school andorphanage forNative American children.
The town is located in a cultural area of the state known asLittle Dixie, as it was settled by Native American tribes, African Americans and European Americans from thesoutheastern United States. It is within the tourist area designated asChoctaw Country by theOklahoma Department of Tourism.[6]
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This was part of theIndian Territory to which the United States government relocated Native American tribes from east of theMississippi River in the 1830s under itsIndian Removal policy. Among the nations relocated here were theChoctaw, for whom the county is named. They were one of what were called the "Five Civilized Tribes" of the southeastern United States, as some of their people had adopted many elements of European-American culture. When they relocated, they brought with them the numerousenslaved African-Americans whom they held as workers and property.
As the majority of the Choctaw allied with theConfederate South during theAmerican Civil War, the United States government insisted on a new peace treaty with them after its end. A condition was the Choctaws'emancipation of their slaves and granting to thefreedmen of rights of full citizenship in the Choctaw nation, as the US was granting citizenship to former slaves of the South.[7]
In 1902 theSt. Louis, San Francisco and New Orleans Railroad (later theSt. Louis–San Francisco Railway or "Frisco") built a line fromHope, Arkansas, toArdmore, Oklahoma. It crossed the north–south line Frisco had built in 1887 to connectMonett, Missouri, toParis, Texas.[5] The territorial town that sprang up at the crossing would soon be named Hugo. The town's name was recommended by the wife of local surveyor W.H. Darrough, a fan of French writerVictor Hugo.[8] At the time of its founding, Hugo was located inKiamitia County, a part of thePushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation.
As the end of the Indian Territory drew near, tribal citizens and other inhabitants organized an effort for the territory to be admitted to theUnion as a state. TheState of Sequoyah, which they proposed, divided the territories of the five tribes into counties. Hugo was designated as the county seat ofHitchcock County. Although neither Congress nor the president were interested in admitting Sequoyah as a state, the county boundaries proposed for Sequoyah were in some cases adopted for counties in the future state of Oklahoma.
In southeastern Oklahoma, the future Choctaw County's boundaries were generally those of Hitchcock County, Sequoyah. Similarly, boundaries proposed forPushmataha County, Sequoyah served, in general, as the boundaries forPushmataha County, Oklahoma. AndMcCurtain County, Oklahoma generally follows the boundaries proposed for McCurtain County, Sequoyah. Both counties are adjacent to and share boundaries with Choctaw County.[9]
When counties were reorganized to prepare Oklahoma for admission as a state, Hugo was designated as the county seat of the redefined Choctaw County, as it was already a population center in the area.
After allotments of communal tribal land to individual households of tribal members under theDawes Act, the Choctaw Nation lost control of much of its land, which was purchased by European Americans.
Beginning in 1941, when the Al G. Kelly and Miller Brothers Circus relocated to Hugo from Kansas, there have been circuses based in this city. The Kelly and Miller Brothers were recruited by Vernon and Jewell Pratt, a local couple who owned a grocery store. In return the circus offered free Sunday performances for many years.
Hugo became a popular wintering place for circus and rodeo companies, because of its mild climate. Townspeople and circus people formed relationships and collaborated on civic projects. An estimated twenty circuses at times were based in Hugo, and in 2018 three still operate here: Carson and Barnes, Kelly Miller, and Culpepper & Merriweather. All are tent circuses that travel the region by road.[10]
David Rawls (born 1948) grew up in a circus family, who performed with Famous Cole Circus. In addition to performing on trampoline with his brother, he later learned all aspects of the business. In 1984 he became owner/manager of his own show, Kelly Miller Circus. He sold it in 2009. During this period, he also had been selected as City Manager of Hugo for a time, and was elected and served as Mayor of the city at another time.[10]
A portion of Mt. Olivet Cemetery was set aside as Showmen's Rest: buried here were circus owner D. R. Miller and rodeo cowboys Freckles Brown, Lane Frost, and Todd Whatley.
In late 1993, a number of violent incidents occurred. Before Christmas, a shootout took place in aWal-Mart parking lot. Within one week in December, two fires occurred; the first was at theBooker T. Washington gymnasium on December 26. On December 28 a fire erupted in the central business district of Hugo, consuming five buildings and burning for four hours. The Belmont Hotel, which the area historical society was renovating, was destroyed. Area authorities suspected that the fires werearson.[11][12]
In 1937, under theWorks Progress Administration program for public art, artistJoseph Fleck painted an oil-on-canvas mural, titledThe Red Man of Oklahoma Sees the First Stage Coach, in the United States post office in Hugo. This building is now used as the Oklahoma School System Administration Building. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through theSection of Painting and Sculpture, later called theSection of Fine Arts, of theTreasury Department.[13]
Hugo is located at the center of Choctaw County. According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.42 square miles (16.64 km2), of which 6.40 square miles (16.58 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.06 km2), or 0.36%, is water.[4] Hugo Lake on theKiamichi River lies northeast of town, and Roebuck Lake, anoxbow former channel of theRed River, lies south of town.[5]
Hugo is the southern terminus of theIndian Nation Turnpike, a 105-mile (169 km) four-lane highway that runs northwest toInterstate 40 inHenryetta. It provides a vital transportation link from southeastern Oklahoma to the state's largest cities,Oklahoma City andTulsa.
| Climate data for Hugo, Oklahoma | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) | 86 (30) | 92 (33) | 94 (34) | 98 (37) | 105 (41) | 110 (43) | 110 (43) | 108 (42) | 100 (38) | 88 (31) | 84 (29) | 110 (43) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 53.1 (11.7) | 58.3 (14.6) | 67.6 (19.8) | 76 (24) | 82.2 (27.9) | 89.2 (31.8) | 94.1 (34.5) | 94.5 (34.7) | 87.4 (30.8) | 77.7 (25.4) | 65.8 (18.8) | 55.8 (13.2) | 75.1 (23.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) | 34.9 (1.6) | 43.3 (6.3) | 52.2 (11.2) | 59.7 (15.4) | 67.1 (19.5) | 70.3 (21.3) | 69.2 (20.7) | 63 (17) | 51.8 (11.0) | 42.7 (5.9) | 33.7 (0.9) | 51.5 (10.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 0 (−18) | −6 (−21) | 7 (−14) | 26 (−3) | 36 (2) | 50 (10) | 54 (12) | 53 (12) | 38 (3) | 22 (−6) | 13 (−11) | −4 (−20) | −6 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.2 (56) | 3.3 (84) | 4.2 (110) | 4.2 (110) | 6.0 (150) | 4.8 (120) | 2.8 (71) | 2.7 (69) | 4.5 (110) | 4.2 (110) | 4.0 (100) | 3.3 (84) | 46.1 (1,170) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.3 (3.3) | 1.2 (3.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.7 (1.8) | 3.4 (8.6) |
| Average rainy days | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 83 |
| Source 1: weather.com | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weatherbase.com[14] noaa.gov[15] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 4,582 | — | |
| 1920 | 6,368 | 39.0% | |
| 1930 | 5,272 | −17.2% | |
| 1940 | 5,909 | 12.1% | |
| 1950 | 5,984 | 1.3% | |
| 1960 | 6,287 | 5.1% | |
| 1970 | 6,585 | 4.7% | |
| 1980 | 7,172 | 8.9% | |
| 1990 | 5,978 | −16.6% | |
| 2000 | 5,536 | −7.4% | |
| 2010 | 5,310 | −4.1% | |
| 2020 | 5,166 | −2.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
As of thecensus[3] of 2000, there were 5,536 people, 2,309 households, and 1,415 families residing in the city. The population density was 999.0 inhabitants per square mile (385.7/km2). There were 2,798 housing units at an average density of 504.9 per square mile (194.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 49.28%White, 30.6%African American, 14.1%Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.4% fromother races, and 5.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.61% of the population.
There were 2,309 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% weremarried couples living together, 20.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. Of all households 35.3% were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,321, and the median income for a family was $26,523. Males had a median income of $26,473 versus $17,348 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $11,676. About 25.5% of families and 29.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 43.5% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.
Agriculture (especially cotton farming), timber, and ranching have been mainstays of the city's economy since its beginning. With industrial scale agriculture, mechanization replaced numerous farm jobs.
Since the 1940s, circuses have used Hugo as their winter quarters and some regional circuses have been based here. Their owners and performers have often gotten involved in civic life.
The changing economy and culture of the later 20th century resulted in the 1970s opening of theKiamichi Technology Center and the "Agriplex," originally the Choctaw County Agricultural Center.[5]
Hugo implemented a council-manager form of city government in 1995. Council members are elected from single-member districts, and hire a professional manager to oversee operations of the city.[5]
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Hugo serves as the southern terminus of theIndian Nation Turnpike.U.S. Highway 70 runs west to east through the city and connects Hugo toDurant 53 miles (85 km) to the west andIdabel 43 miles (69 km) to the east.U.S. Highway 271 runs south out of the city and leads 26 miles (42 km) toParis, Texas.[5]
Hugo is served by the city-operatedStan Stamper Municipal Airport, with one 4,007-by-75-foot (1,221 m × 23 m) runway. The airport has ten aircraft based on the field. It supports medicalair ambulance operations by EagleMed, as well as scheduled cargo operations for all of southeastern Oklahoma, via a flight fromTulsa operated byMartinaire on behalf ofUPS.[citation needed]
Municipalities and communities ofChoctaw County, Oklahoma,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in another county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
