The city of Poteau is located in Le Flore County<1> (at the time of its founding, Poteau was located in Indian Territory) and is the County Seat for Le Flore County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Poteau, you might consider that their post office opened in 1887.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Poteau has a population of 8,863 people<2> (see below for details).
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Poteau had an population of 8,863 people. This is an increase of 4.03% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 11.64% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Poteau had a population of 8,520 people (which is 16.86% of the total population of Le Flore County). This makes Poteau the county's most populous community.
The population of Poteau represents 0.23% of the population of Oklahoma (which has 3,751,351 people), making it the state's 49th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 8,520 people, the population of Poteau increased 7.32% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 7,939 people).
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Poteau. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Poteau.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Poteau. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Poteau.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Poteau. Our list includes 7 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Poteau.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Poteau ...
Looking for more information about Poteau? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Poteau, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Poteau.
Adding Poteau to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Poteau in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Poteau was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Poteau post office opened in 1887.
We also found Poteau on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Oklahoma (1911).
If you're interested in how the shape of Oklahoma's counties, including Le Flore, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The elevation is an estimate for the area around Poteau - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
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When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 918 code has been Overlayed with the 539 area code. New phone numbers in the Poteau area will be assigned with one of these codes: 918 or 539. As a result, placing a call in the Poteau area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
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ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Poteau). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Poteau or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
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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.
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While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
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A copy of their list with background information can be found at: