Panama (Oklahoma)

Le Flore County

40-56900

Panama is a small town in Le Flore County in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Geography

Panama is located between the southern Shady Point and the north-eastern Spiro. Poteau, the county seat ( county seat ) of the Le Flore County is located at a distance of about 15 kilometers in the south. The city of Fort Smith, Arkansas is located about 30 kilometers to the northeast. The main thoroughfares U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 271 run through the city.

History

First settlements in the area were built in the mining industry after the discovery of coal and its extraction. The place was first called because many of painted red building "Red Town". In 1890 there were about one hundred people. After 1896, the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad ( later acquired by the Kansas City Southern Railway ) and then took the Midland Valley Railroad, a railway station on the current location Panama in operation, settled there more population groups and developed a trading post. In 1898 the city received its current name in Panama. Some chroniclers state that the name of the city was adopted in accordance with the Panama Canal. In the 1930s, coal production declined initially and it developed farms. After the commissioning of a fired local coal power plant by the Applied Energy Services Corporation in the adjacent Shady Point in 1991, new industrial jobs were.

Demographic data

In 2011 a population of 1416 persons was determined, which represents an increase of 4.0% compared to the year 2000. The average age of the residents was in 2011 with 37.8 years below the average of Oklahoma, which was 40.6 years. The proportion of Aboriginal was estimated at around 13%.