McAlester, Oklahoma
McAlester, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
Downtown McAlester in January 2008 | |
| Nickname: Mactown | |
Location of McAlester, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates: 34°55′32″N 95°46′24″W / 34.92556°N 95.77333°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Pittsburg |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Justin Few |
| Area | |
• Total | 17.93 sq mi (46.43 km2) |
| • Land | 17.80 sq mi (46.10 km2) |
| • Water | 0.13 sq mi (0.33 km2) |
| Elevation | 742 ft (226 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 18,171 |
| • Density | 1,020.84/sq mi (394.16/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 74501–74502 |
| Area code(s) | 539/918 |
| FIPS code | 40-44800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2411056 |
| Website | www |
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 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 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.