Piney, Oklahoma

Piney, Oklahoma
Census-designated place
Location within Adair County and the state of Oklahoma
Coordinates: 35°53′15″N 94°33′13″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Adair
Area [2]
• Total	4.58 sq mi (11.86 km^2)
• Land	4.52 sq mi (11.70 km^2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.16 km^2)
Elevation [1]	1,122 ft (342 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	101
• Density	22.36/sq mi (8.63/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
FIPS code	40-59100[3]
GNIS feature ID	2584389[1]

Piney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 115 at the 2010 census.^[4] Piney was the "head town" of the first wave of relocated Cherokee people (the "Old Settlers") who relocated there from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States.

History

Piney was established in the Arkansaw Territory, in 1824, as the head town of the Cherokee in the West. It served as the council seat (informal capital) of the Cherokee Nation–West from 1824 to 1828. The town was located on the lands of Lovely's Purchase, that straddled what was to become the Indian Territory—Arkansas state line.^[5] In 1828, the eastern border of the Indian Territory was finally drawn (running just one mile east of the settlement), and the old Arkansaw Territory was split into two. A permanent Cherokee Nation capital city was also being built in the more centrally located Tahlonteeskee (in Sequoyah County,) located deeper in the new Indian Territory. Most of the Cherokee residents of Piney soon migrated further west into their designated districts in the Indian Territory following the split. A Baptist missionary, Duncan O'Bryant, who had served in Piney for a time, remained behind. He died in 1834 and his grave is located there.^[5]

Piney had a post office from November 24, 1913, to August 20, 1921. The town reached its largest size circa 1916. It had a general store (where the post office was located); a gristmill; a blacksmith's shop; and a school, which is now used as a community building. The incorporated town continued until 1940.^[5] The original settlement of Piney is now considered a ghost town, although some residents still live in the area (2011).^[5]

Geography

Piney is located in eastern Adair County, 1 mile (2 km) west of the Arkansas border. The Piney CDP has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), of which 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km²), or 1.32%, is water.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	101		—
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

See also

• List of ghost towns in Oklahoma

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Piney, Oklahoma
2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Piney CDP, Oklahoma". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
5. Ghost Towns of Oklahoma; Morris, John Wesley; Norman, OK; University of Oklahoma Press; 1978; ISBN 978-0-8061-1420-0; accessed November 2015
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.