Dark plumes of smoke billowed over the St. Louis and San Francisco station as the fire spread. Shop owners watched in horror as the wooden structures burst into flame. Residents scrambled into frantic action. Grabbing anything that would hold water, they rushed to fill them at the hand-dug wells. Others fruitlessly beat at the flames with old blankets. Still, the fire was relentless.
One by one, the buildings began to collapse in a heap of burning ash and splintered wood. With each crash, sparks flew up and into the faces of the weary onlookers. They cautiously backed away, looks of surprise still etched on their faces.
They watched in fascinated horror as the old town was slowly devoured. The heat licked at their ashen faces and all they could do was watch.
As the last building crumbled and the flames began to die, they looked out across the rubble. Not a single building had survived. The stores, the blacksmith shop, and even old Welch’s store fell victim.
Tomorrow they would rebuild; tonight, they wept.
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| Downtown Poteau, 1896 |
By the early 1890’s, Poteau was no longer considered as a frontier town. While it was still a wild and rugged place, it was also quickly growing into a well-developed, lively place that boasted several of the most prosperous businesses in the area. By the end of the 1890’s, Poteau would grow to become the dominant town in the area.
With all of this growth and expansion, the earlier name of Poteau Switch was dropped. The town was named “Poteau” because of the nearby river, and “Switch” because of the town’s status as a railroad switching station. Even though the railroad still played an important part in the daily life of Poteau, new industries and businesses were quickly changing the nature of the town.
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| Poteau, Oklahoma, taken from above the courthouse looking towards College and Church streets, 1890s |
Poteau was known as Poteau Switch as late as 1890. Before this time, Cameron was the largest “modern” town in the area. Before Poteau had a passenger service, people went to Cameron to board a train. While Poteau was expanding during the 1890’s, Cameron was in a state of decline. By 1900, Cameron would have a population of only 300, while Poteau’s was climbing at well over 1,000. To better illustrate this, Cameron only had one hotel at this time, but Poteau could boast of having four “world-class” hotels.
During the early 1890’s, Poteau continued expanding at a steady pace. Businesses boomed, farmers produced booster crops, and the town had achieved a highly reputable status in the area.
However, this moderate expansion would soon blossom into another explosion of progress. Within ten years, the entire landscape of Poteau would be changed.
THE PANIC OF 1893
Many factors helped foster this decade of prosperity in Poteau, but perhaps one of the most important was simply the town’s location.
Across the United States, Americans enjoyed a great economic bounty during the 1880’s. It was a period of remarkable expansion driven by railroad speculation. New railroads were being built almost on a daily basis, pulling the country closer than it ever was before. As the world seemed to grow smaller, companies continued growth by taking over competitors, endangering their own stability. New mines were being opened, and their products, especially silver, began to flood the market.
It was called “The Gilded Age”, and the U.S. economy grew at the fastest rate in its history. It was the age where super-rich industrialists and financiers such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew W. Mellon, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Flagler, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt of the Vanderbilt family came into full bloom. It was also an age where corruption ran rampant and commerce remained unchecked.
This rampant growth came to a sudden halt in 1893 as the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing set off a series of bank failures. The severity was great in all American industrial cities and mill towns. Once the banks and railroads began to fail, industrial output plummeted. Many farms failed because of falling prices for export crops such as wheat and cotton. Until the Great Depression, the Panic of 1893 was considered the worst depression the United States had ever experienced.
Despite the bleak economic landscape and turbulent times the country was in, towns and settlements across Indian Territory were thriving. Many people from the more industrialized eastern United States abandoned their homes and moved west. Since the lands in Indian Territory were still relatively untamed, people saw this open expanse of un-moderated land as prime real estate.
The small town of Poteau was perfectly situated to receive this influx of new immigrants. Although still a rough town, Poteau’s growth was stable and businesses continued to flourish.
The U.S. economy began to recover in 1897. Confidence in the economy was restored after the election of Republican McKinley. The Klondike Gold Rush that began in July 1897 also helped foster the growth of the U.S. economy.
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| B. H. Harper's Cotton Plantation, located where Downtown Poteau is today, taken around Harper Street, 1890s |
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