This Darwin has nothing to do with the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin never lived here nor did he personally name this community. This web page has nothing to do with The Darwin Awards!  Darwin is a nice little community of people living on the western edge of the Pushmataha County line of Oklahoma in Kiamichi Country. The rolling hills bring you some beautiful scenery with the different color leaves on the trees and cattle, buffalo, or exotic animals grazing on the green meadows along the highway. Watch out for the deer crossing the roadway!

If you travel Highway 3 from Atoka to Antlers (The Deer Capital of the World), you will see farm land, churches, businesses and homes along the highway. Once you cross the Pushmataha County line, you are in Darwin. The people are friendly, casual,  and they live in a laid-back atmosphere. You have to be there for a while to understand that Darwin is a state of mind and a way of life. The place grows on you! Many of the people left home as youngsters and returned to their roots to retire.

There is an annual homecoming in June where people come home to visit love ones, old classmates, and celebrate the festivities. For more information, visit this site: Homecoming 2007. Here was Darwin's fire truck entry into Oklahoma's Centennial Celebration at Antlers this year.

Darwin is 10 miles west of Antlers, and the connection to the Indian Nation Turnpike, 22 miles east of Atoka and 172 miles east of Oklahoma City. Dallas, Texas is 17 miles closer to Darwin than the Capital City of Oklahoma.

Darwin, Oklahoma has an enjoyable climate with four seasons. The summer months temperatures are usually in the 90's during the day and the nights in the 70's. The average summer temperature is 79 degrees F although you will see some 100 degree temperatures in July and August. The winter months highs are in the 40's and lows in the 20's. The average winter temperature is 42 degrees F. Annual snowfall average is about 4 inches per year.

The Southeastern part of Oklahoma is a fishing and hunting paradise. There are a number of lakes and rivers within one hour or less driving time. There are about as many boats in the area as there are automobiles.

Here are some of the  lakes that you will find in the area for your enjoyment:

• Atoka Lake - Atoka
• Broken Bow Lake - Broken Bow
• Hugo Lake - Hugo
• Lake Ozzie Cobb - Rattan
• Lake Texoma - Durant - Kingston
• McGee Creek Lake - Farris & Lane
• Pine Creek Lake - Valliant
• Sardis Lake - Clayton

Darwin Baptist Church - Located on Highway 3
The Darwin Baptist Church has been at this location since 1946. It was in another building that was torn down near the Darwin Cemetery..

 

Darwin Cemetery - Located on Highway 3
This cemetery has been around even longer than when Oklahoma became a state 100 years ago. One of the cornerstones on the community building located at the Darwin cemetery reads established in 1906 and the community building was built in August 1970.

Darwin Volunteer Fire Department
Fire Chief, Dean, Stapleton, Route 1 Box 3972, Antlers, OK, 74523-9720,
Phone: (580)298-2007, (580)326-6486 Ext 139.

The Candle Cabin
Unique gifts for friends and family, gifts for the home, hospital, or nursing home. Try their scented candles. Store phone is 580-513-5084.

BizyOK.Com
Reasonable priced web pages for busy people.

Jeffrey's Studio of Music
A fully equipped sound studio that can produce tapes, sound tracks, instrumental assistance, and much more. Please contact for your needs. Contact Jeffrey for a complete list of tapes, CDs and original music available.

Centerpoint Grocery - west of Darwin on Hwy 3
McGee Creek State Park is located 3 miles north of the store. The store is also a check station during hunting season.

Angler's Roost Cabins and RV park - west of Darwin at Lane
Open year round. They have 4 cabins (2 with kitchen facilities) and 10 RV sites available within 2 1/2 miles of
McGee Creek State Park. For reservations and directions call 580-889-9567 or E-Mail lperfield@peoplepc.com.

Holiday Motel - Hugo
HC 69 Box 74, Highway 70
(580)326-6478, GPS: 34.013484, -95,512093
The #1 Rated Property in Hugo for the last 5 years. 

Need Flowers for a Special Occasion?

Patti's Place, 702 E. Main St, Antlers
580-298-3230
Across the street from Mills Coffey Funeral Home

McGee Creek State Park - 3 miles North of Hwy 3.
McGee Creek State Park is the place to stay while you fish in one of Oklahoma's best trophy lakes. The lake is well stocked with largemouth bass, all varieties of catfish, crappie, smallmouth bass, and perch.

McGee Creek Fishing Reports and Fishing Forecasts

The Lane Research Center - 13 miles West in Atoka County
The Lane Ag Center was developed in response to the need for new and improved agricultural enterprises in southeastern Oklahoma and the region. It is operated jointly by the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Division of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the research arm of the USDA.

Author Bob Childers - Specializing in a series of historic novels with a setting in Southeastern Oklahoma and Pushmataha County. Some of his latest or planned books are: "West of Chickasaw Creek",  "I Ain't Pickin' No More Cotton",  "Sparrow in the Wind", Ghost of John Thompson".
Call 580-298-6222 for current pricing and availability.

Author Jack Kilgore - a personal account of "how it was growing up" in that isolated rural community (Lone Pine and Darwin area) and finding a rewarding niche in the "Big World". To order a copy of "AN ODYSSEY: FROM POTUBBY TO OUT THERE AND OVER YONDER", please contact Jack at e-mail  jwoodyk@aol.com or telephone 405-632-2190 for further information..

Darrel L. Heath, Pastor, Author, Poet, and a long time resident of Pushmataha County has a new book out. You can order it on Amazon by clicking on the link below:

Some Darwin Oklahoma History

The original date when Darwin came into existence is not known at this time. We know that the Darwin Cemetery was established in 1906, about a year before President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Oklahoma the 46th state on November 16, 1907. The earliest entry I can find about Darwin was an Elias Parish that was born on 14 July 1876 in Darwin and he was buried at the Sugar Loaf Cemetery.

The Darwin community had its own post office for many years but closed it down when the postmaster Lila B. Dudley retired from her duties some time in the late 1950s. Lila and Bill Dudley ran the grocery store and post office for several years right on the county line. There is only a grown up lot where the store and well used to be. The postal address now is Route 1, Antlers, Oklahoma 74523. Near Rufe Oklahoma, the  Ringold Community had the Darwin post office boxes in use until about 2000 when they built a new post office. Their status is unknown at this time. Possibly, the post office now has the old boxes in their warehouse.

More Darwin History

The Darwin post office evidently covered a lot of area. People who lived in Lone Pine in Atoka County said that their address was General Delivery, Darwin, Oklahoma. Even though they were isolated residents of Atoka County, Darwin was their Post Office, and Cemetery. Antlers was also their town to do business in. A Mrs. Caperton was the postmaster and store owner in the 1930's and it is believed that she was Lila's Mother. Evidently Lila B. Dudley took over the store and post office later.

In the early days up to the middle 1930's there was a mule powered grist mill behind the old Darwin store/post office.  Residents from surrounding communities brought their shelled corn to have it ground into cornmeal.  Most of the clients of the grist mill used wagons or riding horses for transportation.

During the late 1930's a blacksmith shop was in operation across the county line west of the Darwin Post Office.  The operator was Champ Kilgore who lived one mile east of Darwin on the south side of the highway. Most of his work was associated with wagons and plow tools. (More Darwin History information provided by Jack Kilgore, an early resident of Lone Pine, Oklahoma.)
 

The old Baptist church house was built about 1913 jointly by Missionary and Free Will Baptists of the Darwin community. It was torn down and the members built the new church on Hwy 3 in 1946.

Early known ministers in Darwin were:

 J. E. McGee, Minister of the Gospel at Darwin, preached and performed  wedding ceremonies from 1907 - 1913. He was listed as Missionary Baptist and also Free Will Baptist later on from 1911 - 1913.

J. L. Butler, Minister, Missionary Baptist Church at Darwin, preached and performed  wedding ceremonies in 1912.

W. T. Lucas, Minister of the Gospel at Darwin, preached and performed wedding ceremonies in 1914.

Sugar Loaf School was the school in the Darwin Community, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The two room school was on the Miller Road west of Antlers. The school functioned in the 1930s to about 1955 or so. Then the students living in the area were bused to the Antlers Public Schools. The school house functioned as a community center for special occasions and Christmas parties. More can be found out about these school memories by clicking on the above link.

Sugarloaf Cemetery - North on Dozier Road from Highway 3, Pushmataha County in the Darwin Community.
Two acres or more were set apart for a cemetery and the land is privately owned. There are a number of Parish family graves within a fence and older graves located outside. The oldest grave was in 1909.
Latitude: 34.265, Longitude: -95.76139.

Family Names in Darwin after Oklahoma Statehood: (From 1907 - 1912)
This is only a starter list. If anyone knows that their family lived in Darwin when Oklahoma became a state in 1907, please let me know. They really would be a "Sooner."


Auchubbie, Berry, Brown, Bumpass, Cockrell, Crockman, Doshier, Dye, Enox, Finley, German, Hardin, Herman, Johnston, Kilgore, Layne, Loman, Long, Lucas, Maddux, McGee, Milam, Murphee, Napier, Parish, Rich, Roberson, Snodgrass, Stabaugh, Tyler, Williams, Willingham, Wrich.

Other Important Area Links

Antlers Oklahoma Tourist Guide
City of Antlers and County Offices
OK Hunting Fishing Guide
Pushmataha Hospital
Antlers Public Schools
Antlers American newspaper
Pushmataha County Genealogy Information
Antlers-Darwin Local Weather

Towns or Communities near Darwin

Farris - West on Hwy 3 - 5 miles
Farris zip code is 74542
McGee Creek State Park
McGee Creek Wildlife Management Area

Miller - From Hwy 3,  North on Hwy 43 - 5 miles
Miller Cemetery

Antlers - East on Hwy 3 - 10 miles
Antlers zip code is 74523
Wildlife Heritage Center Museum

Moyers - East Hwy 3, North on Hwy 2 - 14 miles
Moyers zip code is 74557

Finley -  East Hwy 3 & North Hwy 271  - 20 miles
Finley zip code is 74543

Rattan - East on Hwy 3 - 21 miles
Rattan zip code is 74562

Atoka - West on Hwy 3 - 22 miles
Atoka zip code is 74525
Atoka Hotels
City of Atoka
Atoka Public Schools
Atoka Lake of Oklahoma
Boggy Depot State Park

Hugo - East on Hwy 3 & South on Hwy 271 - 25 miles
Hugo zip code is 74543

Paris, TX - East on Hwy 3; Indian Nation Turnpike South; Hwy 271S - 51 miles
Paris zip code is 75460

Durant - West on Hwy 3 & South on Hwy 75 - 56 miles
Durant zip code is 74701
 
Denison, TX - West on Hwy 3 & South on Hwy 75 - 74 miles
Denison zip code is 75020
Denison TX Hotels
City of Denison

Other Darwin Information Around the World:

The name "Darwin" is of old English origin and means "dear friend."

Port of Darwin - Australia's Northern Gateway
The GNU-Darwin Distribution - Geek Technology
Darwin Airline in Ticino south Switzerland
Darwin College of Cambridge University
Charles Darwin - Wikipedia
Darwin Brewery - Sunderland
The Darwin Awards
Darwin festival
Darwin's Natural Pet Products
Darwin - The Robot
Darwin Australian Shepherds




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