The Arrival of the KCS Railway in LeFlore County

The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad Company (K.C.P. & G.) originated with Arthur E. Stilwell in 1887.  He envisioned a railroad that linked the major agricultural centers from Kansas City to a port on the Gulf of Mexico.  This began with the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway.  Within ten years, his company succeeded in creating a north-south line that extended from Kansas City, Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The KCS Depot in Heavener, early 1900s

In 1894, the K.C.P. & G. began railroad construction in Indian Territory.  After passing through Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the railroad continued south through Poteau.  Poteau was the final stop before the K.C.P. & G. left Indian Territory.  After passing through the Kiamichi Mountains, the railroad then passed through Dallas, Arkansas before finally ending in Beaumont, Texas.

For Poteau, this was a major boon for business.  When the St. Louis and San Francisco came through, it turned a sparsely inhabited wilderness into a thriving frontier town.  It helped to establish Poteau as a center for agriculture, mining, and logging, while at the same time bringing a large number of new settlers into the area.  

The K. C. P. & G. Railroad, following the best route south, constructed their lines almost half of a mile southeast of the St. Louis and San Francisco Depot.  The first K. C. P. & G. depot was located just to the east end of Parker Street.  Later, a more modern building would be constructed at the end of Dewey.

Located on Railroad, by the KCS tracks, this store was just a couple doors down from the old KCS depot.  It is one of the earliest photos of the old "downtown" area by the KCS railroad tracks, taken in 1894.

After construction was completed on the railroad in 1895, Poteau was thrust into a new era of expansion.  Prior to this, the heart of Poteau was located northwest of the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad lines, with the old business district clustered around the St. Louis and San Francisco depot.  Almost immediately after the construction of the K. C. P. & G. depot, the town began expanding east along Dewey Avenue.  By 1896, the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (acquired by the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1900) initiated freight service through town.

Working on the KCS Tracks, photo clipped from the Poteau Daily News

Two years later, in 1898, the K. C. P. & G. built a sixteen-mile branch from Spiro, Indian Territory, to serve the important business center of Fort Smith Arkansas.  For Poteau, this meant that both the St. Louis and San Francisco and the K. C. P. & G. offered access to Indian Territory’s most important border city.  This helped to cement Poteau’s reputation for being an industrial and progressive town.

KCS locomotive and cars in Spiro, Oklahoma