Idabel, Oklahoma
2012.12.20
In 1902, the Choctaw Townsite Commission, a subsidiary of the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway, platted a townsite in southeastern Oklahoma Territory, about twenty miles from Arkansas and ten miles from Texas. The town was first named after railroad official Isaac Purnell, but the postal service rejected the name as being too similar to existing Purcell, Oklahoma Territory. The next suggestion was Mitchell, another railroad executive, but there was already a town of Mitchell in the territory. So the post office was authorized with the name Bokhoma ("red river” in Choctaw). The railroad was persistent, however, and in 1904 they convinced the postal service to rename the town after Isaac Purnell’s daughters, Ida and Belle. In 1907, Idabel became the seat of the new McCurtain County. The population at that time was 726, today it is around 7,600.
Idabel is about twelve miles from Broken Bow, where we lived when I was born. Besides having a few more stores, it boasted a municipal golf course, opened in 1949. Dad often drove over to play, and sometimes Mom brought the baby and dog for a family outing.
T.J. Barnes arrived in the Territory in 1898. He became the first county judge of McCurtain County, and also operated a bank and a newspaper. In 1911, he commissioned a comparatively grand home in the Queen Anne style.
The home remained in the Barnes family until 1973. Then it was purchased and restored by Harold Stevenson, Jr. An Idabel native, Stevenson moved to New York in 1949 to join the avant garde art scene. There he met another young unknown artist who had just arrived, named Andy Warhol. Harold Stevenson Jr. went on to live in France, England, Italy and elsewhere for periods of time, becoming famous and befriending other artists, authors, movie stars, and even royalty. But he frequently returned to Idabel. The Barnes–Stevenson House is now maintained by the McCurtain County Historical Society and open for tours by appointment.
De Queen, AR