Pittsburg County, Oklahoma
Located in southeastern Oklahoma, Pittsburg County was named after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early explorers and traders traveled the area in the 1700s. In the early 1800s, the Texas Road and part of the California Road were early travel routes in Pittsburg County. During the Civil War, two Confederate posts were established in the county, Camp Jumper and a camp in Perryville. In the Battle of Perryville in 1863, Union forces burned the camp and the town. Coal mining in Pittsburg County began prior to the 1880s and was a major industry in the area.
Hunters come from all over to look for deer, wild turkey, wild boar, quail, and squirrel in Pittsburg County. Oklahoma hunters have on average taken nearly 100,000 deer a year for the last several deer seasons and the state is looking for ways to increase this number. Deer season is a huge event in this region of Southeastern Oklahoma!
Southeast Oklahoma is far more mountainous and forested than any other part of the state, containing most of the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma, the Arbuckle Mountains, and five other mountain ranges. The Ouachita National Forest, Oklahoma's only national forest, is also in this area. Kiamichi Country also houses "The World's Highest Hill," a 1,999-foot peak near Poteau, with the official designation for a "mountain" being anything 2,000-feet or taller. The region contains Oklahoma's largest lake by surface area, Eufaula Lake. Other major lakes include Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, Sardis Lake, Hugo Lake, McGee Creek Reservoir, Pine Creek Lake, Brok