The "burying ground" was first used by emigrants traveling on the Butterfield Stage road who camped at a spring, which was later called "Harkins' Spring," just north of the Middle Boggy River (today known as the Muddy Boggy).
Atoka, OK CemeteriesStanding at the forefront of the old Butterfield road imagine the stage coach hustling along the old wooden fence line up the well-ridden ruts that are still visible today and coming to an abrupt halt at the rest stop. The Butterfield Overland Mail route directed its route to Boggy Depot in 1858
Atoka, OK Railroad HistoryAdjoining Boggy Depot Townsite is the 1830s Middle Boggy Battlefield Site and Cemetery. The townsite and cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Oklahoma's list of Oldest Historical Places.
Atoka, OK CemeteriesPrelude to a State Boggy Depot's contribution to Oklahoma outlasted all her structures, for it was the source of the state's name. Chief Allen Wright, principal chief of the Choctaw Nation, suggested the word "Oklahoma" (meaning "Red People") in 1866
Atoka, OK Historic Towns