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87-433: McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County , Oklahoma . The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census. The town gets its name from James Jackson McAlester , an early settler and businessman who later became lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. Known as "J. J.", McAlester married Rebecca Burney, the daughter of a full-blood Chickasaw family, which made him

174-531: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

261-488: A Choctaw citizen by marriage and one of the first settlers in the area, urged visiting newspaperman Edwin D. Chadick to pursue the possibility of an east–west rail line to run through the coal mining district at Krebs that would connect with the north–south line at McAlester. Chadick eventually found financing and established the Choctaw Coal and Railway in 1888, but was unable to come to terms with J. J. McAlester over

348-534: A Republican senator to preside, but Morton insisted on remaining in the chair. On January 26, 1891, a resolution to replace consideration of the Lodge Bill with a bill on a different subject passed by a vote of 35 to 34, and the Lodge Bill died. Harrison blamed Morton for the Lodge Bill's failure. At the 1892 Republican National Convention , Harrison was nominated for reelection but delegates replaced Morton with Whitelaw Reid . Harrison and Reid went on to lose

435-564: A Republican, in 1876, Morton was named finance chairman for the Republican National Committee . Also in 1876, Morton was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the 45th Congress . In recognition of his service to the party, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Morton as an honorary commissioner to the Paris Exhibition of 1878 . Morton was involved in many civic and charitable causes. In 1883, he

522-666: A branch of Eastern Oklahoma State College , is also in McAlester. McAlester is served by: McAlester Regional Airport (KMLC; FAA ID: MLC), approximately three miles southwest of town, features a paved 5602’ x 100’ runway. The airport had commercial air service through Central Airlines in the 1960s. The following sites in McAlester are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma : County seat In Canada ,

609-788: A church pastor. In 1838, Levi Morton graduated from the academy in Shoreham, Vermont. Morton decided on a business career, and in 1838 he began work as a general store clerk in Enfield, Massachusetts . He taught school in Boscawen, New Hampshire , and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Hanover, New Hampshire , then moved to Boston to work in the Beebe & Co. importing business. He eventually settled in New York City, where he entered

696-644: A citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. McAlester is the home of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary , the former site of an "inside the walls" prison rodeo that ESPN's SportsCenter once broadcast. The prison's nickname, Big Mac, was derived from its location in the town. McAlester is home to many of the employees of the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant . This facility makes the majority of the bombs used by

783-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

870-667: A county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of

957-456: A fellow Stalwart and close Conkling friend. Conkling also advised Arthur to decline, but Arthur accepted; Garfield and he were narrowly elected over their Democratic opponents. During the 1880 campaign, Morton and other Stalwarts believed that Garfield had committed to appoint Morton as Secretary of the Treasury . After Garfield won, they were incensed when he claimed he had never made such

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1044-579: A liberal bonus of land to extend the line to Texas . Several New York businessmen, including Levi P. Morton , Levi Parsons , August Belmont , J. Pierpont Morgan , George Denison and John D. Rockefeller , were interested in extending rail through Indian Territory, and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad , familiarly called the Katy Railroad, began its corporate existence in 1865 toward that end. Morton and Parsons selected

1131-655: A local historic site. Anna L. and Levi Morton erected the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff in memory of their daughter Lena. It was dedicated in 1908 and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The Village of Morton Grove, Illinois , a Chicago suburb founded along the path of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was named for Morton. He received

1218-572: A nominee, Morton withdrew and asked his supporters to back Hiscock to ensure that Miller would not be reelected. Hiscock was chosen on the 18th ballot, and won the election by defeating Democrat Smith Mead Weed . At the 1888 Republican National Convention , Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison for president. For vice president, the delegates considered Morton, William Walter Phelps , William O'Connell Bradley and several other candidates. James G. Blaine 's support had helped Harrison attain

1305-580: A population of 3,470 for the former and 642 for the latter. The two towns operated as somewhat separate communities until 1907, when the United States Congress passed an act joining them as a single municipality, the action being required since the towns were under federal jurisdiction in Indian Territory. McAlester and South McAlester were combined under the single name McAlester, with South McAlester officeholders as officials of

1392-470: A promise. As a consolation, Garfield offered Morton appointment as Secretary of the Navy . Morton initially accepted, but then declined after Conkling advised him to turn it down. After Morton declined to join the cabinet, Garfield appointed him as Minister to France . Morton accepted, and served from 1881 to 1885, continuing in office after Garfield was assassinated and Arthur became president. Morton

1479-543: A site near the Kansas ;Indian Territory border where they incorporated the settlement of Parsons, Kansas in 1871. That same year, J. J. McAlester, after buying out Reynolds's share of the trading post, journeyed with a sample of coal to the railroad town in hopes of persuading officials to locate the line near his store at Bucklucksy. The trading post's location on the Texas Road weighed in its favor, given that

1566-601: A successful merchant, cotton broker, and investment banker. Active in politics as a Republican , Morton was an ally of Roscoe Conkling . He was twice elected to the United States House of Representatives , and he served one full term, and one partial one (March 4, 1879 – March 21, 1881). In 1880, Republican presidential nominee James A. Garfield offered Morton the vice presidential nomination in an effort to win over Conkling loyalists who were disappointed that their choice for president, Ulysses S. Grant , had lost

1653-581: A total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized

1740-539: Is 7b. As of the 2000 census , there were 17,783 people, 6,584 households , and 4,187 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,133.1 inhabitants per square mile (437.5/km). There were 7,374 housing units at an average density of 469.9 per square mile (181.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 74.72% White , 8.68% African American , 10.48% Native American , 0.39% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 1.29% from other races , and 4.38% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.04% of

1827-598: Is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

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1914-418: The 1892 election to Democratic nominees Grover Cleveland and Adlai E. Stevenson . In 1894, Morton was elected governor of New York, defeating Democratic nominee David B. Hill and several minor party candidates. He served one two-year term, January 1, 1895, to December 31, 1896. One initiative in which Morton was involved as governor was the consolidation of several New York City-area municipalities as

2001-512: The 46th Congress . He was reelected to the 47th Congress in 1880, and served from March 4, 1879, until his resignation on March 21, 1881. During Morton's House tenure, he served as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee . On the currency issue, which dominated discussions of U.S. economic policy for several decades, Morton consistently advocated for the gold standard . The 1880 Republican National Convention

2088-538: The Astor Home for Children . In 1881, Morton received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Dartmouth College . In 1882, Middlebury College presented him with an honorary LL.D. As an honorary alumnus, Morton frequently attended Dartmouth alumni gatherings in New York. The Mortons lived at Ellerslie , an estate near Rhinecliff, New York . The manor home no longer exists, but several outbuildings survive as

2175-605: The Choctaw Nation . Alyssia Young, who emigrated from Mississippi to the Indian Territory, first established a settlement at the intersection of the two roads in 1838. The town was named Perryville after James Perry, member of a Choctaw family, who established a trading post. At one time Perryville was the capital of the Choctaw Nation and County Seat of Tobucksy County . During the American Civil War ,

2262-555: The City of Greater New York , which took effect on January 1, 1898. Another Morton priority was civil service reform . Morton pursued a moderate course on the issue, but remained firm in his support, which placed him in opposition to political party bosses who favored the spoils system . As a result, in 1896 the Republican Party nominated Frank S. Black , who was perceived as closer to the party bosses than Morton. Morton

2349-590: The Daniel O. Morton Scholarship at Dartmouth. In addition, he endowed scholarships at Middlebury College , one in honor of Daniel Morton and another in honor of Levi Parsons. Morton also owned a summer retreat on Eagle Island on Upper Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Park . The home's design, created by architect William L. Coulter , was done in the Great Camps style. The Morton family later sold

2436-647: The New York Zoological Society from 1897 to 1909. Morton became ill during the winter of 1919 to 1920; a cold developed into bronchitis, and he eventually contracted pneumonia, which proved fatal. He died in Rhinebeck, New York , on May 16, 1920, his 96th birthday . After a memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine , he was interred at Rhinebeck Cemetery. At age 96, Morton

2523-752: The People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when

2610-638: The Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacific Railway , Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company, and Intercontinental Rubber Company. Morton also maintained a farm on his estate, where he raised prizewinning horses and cattle. In 1909, Morton received an offer from J. P. Morgan to merge the Morton company with the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company . He accepted, after which he retired from most business pursuits. Active in politics as

2697-542: The Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of

McAlester, Oklahoma - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-522: The United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in

2871-537: The dry goods business in partnership with George Blake Grinnell and became a successful cotton broker. He then established himself as one of the country's top investment bankers in a firm he founded, Morton, Bliss & Co., which was later reorganized as the Morton Trust Company. During the American Civil War , Morton supported the Union . Unable to obtain cotton from the southern states because of

2958-411: The provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in

3045-757: The 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France , as a U.S. representative from New York , and as the 31st governor of New York . The son of a Congregational minister, Morton was born in Vermont and educated at public schools in Vermont and Massachusetts . He trained for a business career by clerking in stores and working in mercantile establishments in Massachusetts and New Hampshire . After relocating to New York City, Morton became

3132-435: The Choctaw Nation. He had learned of coal deposits in Indian Territory during the war while serving as a captain with the 22nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Confederate). At Fort Smith, Arkansas , before going to work with Reynolds and Hannaford, McAlester had received maps of the coal deposits from engineer Oliver Weldon, who served with McAlester during the war. Weldon had worked for the U.S. surveying Indian Territory before

3219-753: The Choctaw allied with the Confederate States of America (CSA) as the war reached Indian Territory . A depot providing supplies to Confederate Forces in Indian Territory was set up at Perryville. On August 26, 1863, a force of 4,500 Union soldiers crossed the Canadian River and destroyed the Confederate munitions depot at Perryville. This became known as the Battle of Perryville , Indian Territory. Union Major General James G. Blunt , finding

3306-457: The Confederate supplies and realizing that Perryville was a major supply depot for Confederate forces, ordered the town burned. The town was rebuilt but never reached its prewar glory or population. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, Captain J. J. McAlester obtained a job with the trading company of Reynolds and Hannaford. McAlester convinced the firm to locate a general store at Tupelo in

3393-743: The Katy line construction roughly followed the Shawnee Trail – Texas Road route south to the Red River . The line reached Bucklucksy in 1872, and Katy Railroad officials named the railway stop McAlester ( Nesbitt 1933 , pp. 760–61). With the coming of the railroad, businesses in nearby Perryville began relocating to be near the McAlester Rail Depot, marking the end of Perryville and the beginning of McAlester. On August 22, 1872, J. J. McAlester married Rebecca Burney (1841–1919). She

3480-518: The Republican nomination to Garfield. Conkling advised Morton to decline, which he did. Garfield then offered the vice presidential nomination to another Conkling ally, Chester A. Arthur , who accepted. After Garfield and Arthur were elected, Garfield nominated Morton to be Minister Plenipotentiary to France , and Morton served in Paris until 1885. In 1888, Morton was nominated for vice president on

3567-402: The Republican ticket with presidential nominee Benjamin Harrison ; they were elected, and Morton served as vice president from 1889 to 1893. In 1894, Morton was the successful Republican nominee for governor of New York , and he served one term, 1895 to 1896. In retirement, Morton resided in New York City and Rhinebeck, New York . He died from pneumonia on his 96th birthday in 1920, and

McAlester, Oklahoma - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-578: The U.S. Government built the Naval Ammunition Plant a few miles south of McAlester. In 1977, the facility became the U.S. Army Ammunition Plant. It is still the main site of ammunition production and storage for the armed forces in the United States. Two Oklahoma Department of Corrections facilities, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and the Jackie Brannon Correctional Center, are in McAlester. McAlester

3741-538: The Union blockade, Morton suspended his cotton business for the duration of the conflict. After the war, Morton and his British partner, Sir John Rose , recovered their financial positions and improved their political fortunes by using their contacts to assist the United States and England to settle the Alabama Claims . When England agreed to pay a $ 15 million settlement (about $ 307 million in 2020), Morton's bank

3828-629: The United States military. In 1998 McAlester became the home of the Defense Ammunition Center (DAC), which moved from Savanna, Illinois , to McAlester Army Ammunition Plant. The crossing of the east–west California Road with the north–south Texas Road formed a natural point of settlement. At the time of its founding, the site was located in Tobucksy County , a part of the Moshulatubbee District of

3915-412: The city for use as a park. Located at the corner of Coggeshall and Morton avenues (the latter formerly Brenton Road), the site was named Morton Park in Morton's honor. In 1885, Morton purchased a home and land in Hanover, New Hampshire , which he donated to Dartmouth College . The college used the home until 1900, when it was torn down to make way for the school's Webster Hall . Morton also endowed

4002-406: The city was $ 28,631, and the median income for a family was $ 36,480. Males had a median income of $ 29,502 versus $ 19,455 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,694. About 16.1% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over. Agriculture and coal mining supported the city's economy around

4089-771: The city, leaving residents without power and water for more than a week. McAlester is at the intersection of U.S. Route 69 and U.S. Route 270 , in Pittsburg County . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 41 square miles (110 km), of which 40.6 square miles (105 km) is land. It has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) and average monthly temperatures range from 40.0 °F (4.4 °C) in January to 81.7 °F (27.6 °C) in July. The hardiness zone

4176-432: The county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated,

4263-491: The county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of the county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where

4350-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

4437-399: The creation of the statue. After returning to the United States, Morton was a candidate for U.S. Senator in 1885 . He lost the Republican nomination to William M. Evarts , who went on to win election by the full New York State Legislature. He was again a candidate in 1887 . Republicans controlled the legislature, meaning their nominee would win the election. Incumbent Warner Miller

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4524-461: The economy. As a result, the free silver Republicans joined Democrats in opposing consideration of the Lodge Bill. The Lodge Bill reached the Senate floor when a tie enabled Morton to cast the deciding vote in favor of consideration. Southern Democrats filibustered again, and Morton refused to aid Republican senators in ending it. Republicans in the Senate then attempted to persuade Morton to allow

4611-789: The first members of the District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution . He was also a member of the General Society of Colonial Wars . In retirement, he served as president of the Metropolitan Club . He was preceded in that office by J. Pierpont Morgan and succeeded by Frank Knight Sturgis He was also a member of the Union League Club of New York , and served as president of

4698-415: The honor after he provided the financing necessary for the railway to expand its operations into Michigan and Wisconsin beginning in the 1870s. Morton spent summers in Newport, Rhode Island , at a Bellevue Avenue mansion called "Fairlawn". The home is now owned by Salve Regina University and houses the Pell Center of International Relations and Public Policy. Morton also left another Newport property to

4785-463: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

4872-478: The issue of right of way . In the 1870s, miners from Pennsylvania arrived in McAlester to work in the coal mines. Miners of Italian origin arrived in McAlester in 1874. Chadick and his investors purchased land to the south of McAlester's General Store, and a natural trading crossroads formed where the two rail lines crossed, quickly becoming a bustling community called South McAlester. South McAlester grew much more rapidly than North McAlester. The 1900 census showed

4959-429: The nomination on the first ballot with 591 votes to 119 for Phelps, 103 for Bradley, and 11 for Blanche K. Bruce . In the general election , Harrison and Morton lost the popular vote to the Democratic candidates, incumbent president Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman , but won the electoral college vote. Harrison and Morton took office on March 4, 1889, and served until March 4, 1893. Harrison's wife Caroline

5046-423: The parents of five daughters and a son who died in infancy. In 1902, Alice Morton founded "Holiday Farm" as a convalescent home for children. Children who attended were picked up at Grand Central Station and brought to the farm in Rhinebeck. Train fare, board and clothing were provided free. In 1917, Vincent Astor served as president, with Helen Dinsmore Huntington as secretary. Holiday Farm later developed into

5133-402: The population. There were 6,584 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size

5220-425: The presidential nomination. In an echo of the Stalwart-Half Breed rivalry, Blaine backed Phelps for vice president, but the New York delegation, led by Thomas C. Platt refused to consider him. Though he had been an opponent of the Stalwarts, Former senator Warner Miller , a member of the New York delegation, nominated Morton. It quickly became apparent that Morton had enough delegate support to win, and he attained

5307-449: The property to banker Henry Graves . In 1938, Graves donated the site to the Girl Scouts , who operated a summer camp there for seventy years. A likeness of Morton is included in the United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection at the U.S. Capitol. The Morton bust was sculpted by Francis Edwin Elwell and was placed on display in 1891. A portrait of Morton is included in the New York State Hall of Governors. The painting

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5394-405: The single town. Designation as a single community by the United States Post Office came on July 1, 1907, nearly five months before Oklahoma statehood, which caused a redrawing of county lines and designations such that the majority of Tobucksy County fell within the new lines of Pittsburg County . The city had 8,144 inhabitants upon statehood, more than a fourth of whom were foreign-born. McAlester

5481-657: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

5568-470: The term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of

5655-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

5742-436: The turn of the 20th century. Cotton was the main cash crop, and McAlester had three cotton gins and one cotton compress. Then a boll weevil infestation destroyed local cotton production. Meanwhile, railroads converted from coal to oil as their primary fuel, which marked the decline of the coal industry in the area. The Oklahoma State Penitentiary is a major source of employment and revenue in McAlester. During World War II,

5829-484: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

5916-410: The war and knew of the coal deposits. Hearing of the railroad plans to extend through Indian Territory and knowing that rich deposits of coal were in an area north of the town of Perryville, McAlester convinced Reynolds and Hannaford that Bucklucksy would be a more suitable and profitable site for the trading post. He constructed a trading post/general store there in late 1869. The Bucklucksy general store

6003-409: Was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.2 males. The median income for a household in

6090-440: Was a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1896 , but the delegates chose William McKinley . Morton was then considered for the vice presidential nomination, but McKinley's campaign manager, Mark Hanna , was opposed, and the nomination went to Garret Hobart . After he completed his term as governor, Morton returned to his business career and management of his investments. In 1890, Morton became one of

6177-432: Was a member of the Chickasaw Nation, which made it possible for McAlester to gain citizenship and the right to own property (including mineral rights to the coal deposits in both the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations). McAlester quickly obtained land near the intersection of the north–south and east–west rail lines, where he opened a second general store and continued selling coal to the railroads. In 1885, Fritz Sittle (Sittel),

6264-1080: Was also previously home to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in the Carl Albert Federal Building . Another non-profit called McAlester Main Street , one of the various national Main Street Programs , is a public-private partnership with the City of McAlester, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which works to preserve and revitalize Old Town and Downtown McAlester. McAlester Public Schools operates public schools. The McAlester Public Library

6351-577: Was an immediate success, but McAlester recognized an even greater opportunity in the abundance of coal deposits in the area, so he began obtaining rights to the deposits from the Choctaws, anticipating the impending construction of a rail line through Indian Territory. As the first railroad to extend its line to the northern border of Indian Territory, the Union Pacific Railway Southern Branch earned right of way and

6438-401: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was

6525-508: Was built in 1970. As of 2010 the city has plans to build a new library. The Friends of the McAlester Public Library is financing the new branch. McAlester includes Kiamichi Technology Center , which has over 300 students per school year. There is also an extension of Eastern Oklahoma State College that partners with Southeastern Oklahoma State University and East Central University. The Wanda Bass Higher Education Center,

6612-710: Was buried at Rhinebeck Cemetery. Morton was born in Shoreham, Vermont , on May 16, 1824, one of six children born to the Reverend Daniel Oliver Morton, a Congregational minister, and Lucretia Parsons. Morton was of entirely English ancestry, all of his immigrant ancestors came to North America from England during the Puritan migration to New England . His paternal ancestors included Captain Nathaniel Morton of Plymouth Colony . Morton

6699-527: Was chosen to facilitate payments to claimants in the United States. In addition to operating Morton, Bliss & Co., Morton was active in several other businesses. These included the board of directors of the New York Viaduct Railway Company, Guaranty Trust Company, Washington Life Insurance Company, Home Insurance Company, and Equitable Life Assurance Society . In addition, he was an investor in numerous ventures, including

6786-500: Was dominated by Half-Breed supporters of James G. Blaine and Stalwart supporters of Ulysses S. Grant for the presidential nomination. James A. Garfield , who was not affiliated with either faction, but was a friend of Blaine, won the nomination and attempted to win over Stalwarts by asking Morton to be his vice presidential running mate. Conkling, who had managed Grant's campaign, advised Morton to decline, which Morton did. Garfield's supporters then turned to Chester A. Arthur ,

6873-469: Was frequently ill during his administration, and she died in 1892. As Second Lady of the United States , Morton's wife Anna frequently served as Harrison's hostess and performed the duties of the First Lady . As vice president, Morton presided over the U.S. Senate. He was not close to Harrison personally, and Harrison did not often consult with him on political matters. A major Harrison initiative

6960-620: Was named for his mother's brother Reverend Levi Parsons (1792–1822), a clergyman who was also the first U.S. missionary to work in Palestine . His older brother, Daniel Oliver Morton , served as the Mayor of Toledo, Ohio , from 1849 to 1850. His younger sister, Mary Morton, was married to William F. Grinnell, and was the mother of William Morton Grinnell , who served as the Third Assistant Secretary of State while Morton

7047-547: Was on the route of the Jefferson Highway established in 1915, with that road running more than 2,300 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba to New Orleans, Louisiana. McAlester was the site of the 2004 trial of Terry Nichols on Oklahoma state charges related to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing . On December 25, 2000, an ice storm hit the area, leaving residents without electrical service and water for more than two weeks; in January 2007, another devastating ice storm crippled

7134-671: Was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Opera . In 1886, he was appointed to the Hobart College board of trustees. He served for several years, including a term as chairman of the board. He also served on the board of trustees of the American Museum of Natural History . Identified with the Stalwart faction of Republicans led by Roscoe Conkling , in 1878 Morton was elected to represent Manhattan in

7221-524: Was recognized as a member of the Half-Breed faction, and had succeeded state Republican boss Thomas C. Platt in the Senate. Platt had succeeded Conkling as leader of the Stalwarts, and was determined to see Miller defeated, so he backed Morton against Miller. A third candidate, Frank Hiscock , was not affiliated with either faction and had little initial support. After 17 ballots failed to produce

7308-479: Was the Lodge Bill , which would permit the use of federal force to ensure the voting rights of male African Americans in the former Confederacy . Southern Democrats conducted a filibuster , believing the bill would restore Reconstruction era -like Republican rule. Republicans from the western states who supported free silver believed the most pressing issue was the need for an inflated currency to stimulate

7395-529: Was the longest living vice president of the United States until John Nance Garner , who died at age 98, surpassed him in 1964. On October 15, 1856, Morton married Lucy Young Kimball (1836–1871), the daughter of Elijah Huntingdon Kimball and Sarah Wetmore Hinsdale, in Flatlands, Brooklyn . They had one child, daughter Carrie, who died in infancy in 1857. After his first wife's death in 1871, Morton married Anna Livingston Reade Street in 1873. They were

7482-621: Was very popular in France. He helped commercial relations between the two countries run smoothly during his term, and in Paris on October 24, 1881, he placed the first rivet in the construction of the Statue of Liberty . After completion of the statue, he accepted it on behalf of the United States in a ceremony on July 4, 1884, when he signed an agreement with the Union Franco Americaine, the organization formed in France to finance

7569-587: Was vice president. Morton's family moved to Springfield, Vermont , in 1832, when his father became the minister of the Congregational church there. Rev. Morton headed the congregation during the construction of the brick colonial revival-style church on Main Street that is still in use. Levi Morton was considered by his Springfield peers to be a "leader in all affairs in which schoolboys usually engage." The Morton family later moved to Winchendon, Massachusetts , where Reverend Morton continued to serve as

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