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The Commemorative Quarter for Oklahoma





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Atoka (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Atoka. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Atoka is located in Atoka County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Oklahoma's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Atoka County: Bryan, Choctaw, Coal, Johnston, Pittsburg & Pushmataha.

Below are the counties that are near Atoka. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Atoka:

  • Atoka County     (The home county of Atoka)
  • Bryan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.
    • Matoy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Matoy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoy
      • Matoy is located in Bryan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Matoy
      • From Atoka to Matoy
    • Caddo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenefic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenefic have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenefic
      • Kenefic is located in Bryan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenefic <1>
    • Bokchito
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bokchito have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bokchito
      • Bokchito is located in Bryan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bokchito <1>
    • Bennington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Bennington is located in Bryan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bennington <1>
    • Armstrong
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Durant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Choctaw County
  • Coal County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.
    • Lehigh
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lehigh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
      • Lehigh is located in Coal County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lehigh <1>
    • Phillips
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Coalgate
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarita
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Centrahoma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centrahoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centrahoma
      • Centrahoma is located in Coal County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centrahoma <1>
    • Tupelo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tupelo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo
      • Tupelo is located in Coal County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tupelo <1>
  • Hughes County
  • Johnston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.
    • Wapanucka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Coleman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Bromide
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bromide have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromide
      • Bromide is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bromide <1>
    • Milburn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
      • Milburn is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milburn <1>
    • Connerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Pittsburg County
  • Pontotoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.
    • Jesse
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lula
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Stonewall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Harden City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harden City
      • Harden City is located in Pontotoc County
  • Pushmataha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.
    • Moyers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Eubanks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eubanks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eubanks
      • Eubanks is located in Pushmataha County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eubanks
      • From Atoka to Eubanks

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Atoka, see our County-by-County Page for Atoka.

Cemeteries Near Atoka ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Atoka.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Atoka covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Atoka, with the one closest to Atoka listed first.

  • West View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Confederate Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Confederate Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Confederate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Meadows Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Meadows Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Meadows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Coal Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coal Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coal Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Plainview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plainview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plainview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tushka Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tushka Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tushka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harmony Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harmony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McKinney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKinney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKinney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bera Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (137 more) ...
    • Buffalo Creek Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buffalo Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lehigh Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lehigh Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lehigh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Atoka. See our List of 1890's Communities around Atoka.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Atoka ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Atoka.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Atoka. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Atoka and those printed in the larger area surrounding Atoka.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Atoka.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Atoka:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Atoka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Oklahoma: https://www.ok.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Atoka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atoka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3861, Longitude: -96.1282    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025