Hugo is the county seat of Choctaw County, located in deep Southeast Oklahoma, approximately 60 miles from the Arkansas and Louisiana borders, and 25 miles north of Paris, Texas.

(Map of Hugo)

(Map of Choctaw County)

A part of Indian Territory until statehood in 1907, Hugo was first explored by other than Native Americans when Bernard de la Harpe, explored for the glory of France in 1718. Unlike Western Oklahoma's flat, red and dry lands, Choctaw and surrounding counties abound with beautiful wilderness rivers and streams and numerous lakes. The area is often billed as a "Sportsman's Paradise" because of plentiful game and fishing opportunities in, and surrounding Hugo and Choctaw County.
Much of this outdoor paradise lies in and around the Kiamichi (Ki-A-Mee-Chee) Mountains and the Kiamichi River, from which the Hugo Lake is formed. Though once believed to be an Indian word, the word 'Kiamichi' was introduced by early French explorers, who found the area abounding with wild game, and also a very large and outspoken woodpecker. They named the bird and the area 'Kiamichi' -- their word for "raucous bird."
In the 1800s The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek required the removal of many Choctaw Indians from Mississippi to the Oklahoma Indian Territory. In these early settlement days, supplies were brought into Fort Towson 15 miles east of Hugo. Fort Towson, built in 1824 along with Ft. Gibson in anticipation of the coming of the Five Civilized Tribes, became a hub trading village. Supplies were brought up the Red River from the Mississippi on steamboats going to Denison, Texas. Stops were made at Pine Bluff Ferry on the way upriver and Folson's Gin on the down-river return trip.
Later, the St. Louis-San Francisco "Frisco" Railway was completed in 1887, providing rail freight and passenger service from Monette, Missouri to Paris, Texas.
Today Fort Towson gains in historical significance as History buffs discover that it was there that the very last treaty ending the Civil War was signed by Brigadier General Stand Watie, the last Confederate general officer to surrender and lay down his arms on June 23, 1865.
In 1902 the Frisco built an East-West line from Hope, Arkansas, to Ardmore, Okla., creating the territorial town later named Hugo. Almost overnight with the completion of these two strategic rail lines, tents and Conestogas converged on the new territory. A local rail depot was the center of attention with trains coming and going all day long. The Harvey House Restaurant in the Depot grew in popularity. There were dance hall girls, hustlers and gunfighters. The city of Hugo was named by the wife of a local surveyor, W.H. Darrough. Mrs. Darrough was a fan of French Novelist, Victor Hugo and she recommended the name "Hugo."
The oldest continuously operated Christian children's home in America, Goodland is located two miles south of Hugo. Operated by the Presbyterian Church, the home continues to enrich the lives of young men who are residents of the school.
As the railroad grew, so did Hugo. Into the 20s and the 30s, the city continued to grow. As cotton yields diminished and highways improved, railroads faltered as a primary mode of travel, and Hugo was forced to seek other means of growth and development.
In the late 60s Hugo was designated as the termination point of the Indian Nation Turnpike, which provides a major transportation artery to northern and central Oklahoma. In the late 60s, Congress authorized the construction of the fabulous Hugo Lake, a 13,000 acre hot spot for fishing and camping enthusiasts.
A new breeze of change and economic development began blowing in Hugo in 1995. Then, Hugo citizens voted to change to a Council-Manager form of government. The Enterprise Community effort was launched and obtained, resulting in over $40 million dollars of new local projects. (Including the Hugo Lake Marina, and an all-weather Rodeo complex.) Renovation of the Hugo Depot and Museum is continuous and in the Spring of 1996, the old Harvey House Restaurant re-opened in the Depot.
Hugo also proudly lays claim to being the home and winter quarters of four of America's largest Circuses: Carson & Barnes; Kelly-Miller Brothers; Circus Chimera and Culpepper-Meriweather.
Hugo's Mount Olivet Cemetery is internationally famous for its Showman's Rest section which includes a special section of Circus Tents and Animals as monuments to the men and women who spent their lives entertaining American children and families as Circus performers.
Another tourist attraction in Mount Olivet Cemetery is the resting place of two Rodeo Legends. The first was Freckles Brown, who rode the never-before ridden bull "Tornado" in the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City in 1966.
Later, Lane Frost, a young PRCA Champion Bull-Rider would be buried only a few feet from Brown's grave. Frost, for whom the International Movie "8 Seconds" was made, died after being gored by a bull during a rodeo performance. He said if anything ever happened to him he wanted to be buried next to Rodeo's all-time Bull-Riding legend, Freckles Brown.
Today the frontier spirit, from which Hugo families and businessmen put down their roots, continues to provide the driving force behind Hugo's optimistic look to the future. Local real estate investors state unequivocally that the area is well into a marked "paradigm shift" of real estate activity and escalating real estate values. Acreages of all sizes are fetching prices never before seen in the area...and they continue to rise! Despite these rising prices, area real estate continues to be "attractive" to families departing California, Colorado and other states where rising taxes and cost of living are adversely affecting the quality of life.
The citizens of Hugo and Choctaw County welcome you to the history-rich area. For additional information, call the Hugo Chamber of Commerce (http://www.hugochamber.org) (580) 326-7511, (Fax: (580) 326-7512 ) or e-mail the Hugo Daily News at hugonews@sbcglobal.net
"YOU'RE NEVER A STRANGER--IN HUGO!"