Kinta, Oklahoma

Kinta is a town in Haskell County, Oklahoma, United States. The name Kinta is the Choctaw word for "beaver." The population was 297 at the 2010 census, an increase of 22.2 percent from 243 at the 2000 census.HistoryKinta was founded in 1901 by George W. Scott, son-in-law of Greenwood McCurtain, the last chief of the Choctaw Nation before Oklahoma became a state. Scott named the town for nearby Beaver Creek, and moved his store to Kinta from San Bois. He also established a post office in his store and built the first permanent building in town in 1903. San Bois was then the Choctaw capital, but had been bypassed by the Fort Worth and Western Railroad.During the first three decades of the 20th Century, the town economy was supported by coal mining and the production of wood products. When these two industries declined sharply in the 1930s, the railroad ceased operations. The town nearly failed with them. The town survived somehow, and by the start of the 21st Century, the major employer was the Kinta Public School System.GeographyKinta is located at . It is 40miles east of McAlester and 56miles south of Muskogee.According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6sqmi, all of it land.DemographicsAs of the census of 2000, there were 243 people, 104 households, and 68 families residing in the town. The population density was 388.2 people per square mile (148.9/km²). There were 131 housing units at an average density of 209.3 per square mile (80.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.72% White, 12.35% Native American, 0.41% from other races, and 4.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.