America, Oklahoma
America is a ghost town[1] in southeastern McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. It was located 7 miles southeast of Haworth.[2] The town was named after America Stewart, wife of Tom Stewart, a local resident.[2]
History
America grew around a sawmill built by William Spencer and his three brothers in 1907. The Spencer family built 40 houses to lease to sawmill workers,[3] and by 1910 there were 200 people living in America. In 1911, after all the timber had been cut, Spencer opened a cotton gin and general store and became a cotton buyer.[3] Cotton grown on the cleared land was shipped out by the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway ('Frisco) that ran through the town.[3] After cotton production declined in the 1920s, most residents moved out. The cotton gin closed in 1933,[3] around the time when the Great Depression was at its worst. Buck and Blanche Barrow, associates of Bonnie & Clyde were married in America on July 3, 1931. The post office, established since July 24, 1903, was disestablished on February 15, 1944. [2][3] The general store closed the next year, completing the decline.[3]
America is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. Today, part of the former townsite of America is in the Ouachita National Forest. Only two old houses and a railroad marker remain.[3]
