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Hugo, Oklahoma
ca 1941

    Hugo, the metropolis of Choctaw county, Oklahoma, has for 39 years pursued the even tenor of her ways; has quietly, surely and steadily marched in the ranks of progress and development.

    The city was founded in 1902 and now has a population of approximately 6,000. It is located on the main line of the Frisco railroad and a branch of the same system also on United States Highways 70 and 271 and State Highway No. 2, with secondary highways leading out into the surrounding country.

    With commercial, industrial, governmental and political interests centered here and yearly enhancement of valuation and steady expansion of trade, Hugo offers superior advantages to those seeking investment where it will yield sure returns.

    The advancement of Hugo has been marked with conservatism; its growth has been steady and permanent. It is naturally one of the most attractive little cities in Oklahoma, and upon it is stamped the signet of enterprise and public spirit.

    To the attractiveness of nature are added the grace of architectural design and the solidity and substantial character of municipal improvement.

    Hugo has an unfailing supply of pure, healthful water; efficient electric light and power service, natural gas, motorized fire department, modern telephone exchange, telegraph service, in fact, all modern public utilities.

    It is situated near the center of Choctaw county, 26 miles north of Paris, Texas; 20 miles south of Antlers; about 56 miles east of Durant, and about 44 miles west of Idabel, Oklahoma.

    A short distance south of the city is the far-famed Red River Valley, one of the most prolific agricultural regions in the Southwest.

    Hugo is a division headquarters of the Frisco railroad and has Frisco shops, with many railroad men making their headquarters here. It also has a large cotton compress, several cotton gins, three wholesale grocery houses, tie treating plant, feed mills, wholesale flour and feed establishment, lumber mill, three lumber and building material stores, four hotels, tourist courts, two strong and successful banks, tin and sheet metal works, plumbing shops, two bakeries, wholesale produce houses, school bus and commercial body building plant, iron works, theatres, creamery and ice cream factory, ice plants, peanut mill, wholesale and retail oil companies, mattress factory, modern laundries, dry cleaning plants, motor sales and service firms, implement and machinery houses, auto supply houses, wide-awake Chamber of Commerce, modern hospital, one first class dairy and two weekly newspapers and job printing plants, livestock sales yard, bottling works, wholesale candy and cigar house, home appliance stores, auto salvage firms, abstract offices, many modern retail stores engaged in all lines and carrying stocks equal to those commonly found only in much larger cities and other lines of business.

    All streets in the business section and many of those in the residence districts are paved and others are graded, graveled and well kept.

    Choctaw county has a magnificent Court House, which is situated at the edge of the business district and towers high and tells of worthy ambition and lofty ideals which prevail throughout the county. The city also has a modern post office building and city hall, auditorium, fully accredited high school, grade schools, in fact, a system of schools which ranks with the best in the state also churches of all leading denominations, several owning imposing and costly houses of worship.

    Hugo is a city of many beautiful homes, cozy cottages and well kept lawns. A majority of the homes are owned by those living in them.

    Hugo is in the center of one of the outstanding agricultural, horticultural, poultry, dairying, livestock and hog producing sections of Southeast Oklahoma. A majority of the soils in Choctaw county and particularly those in the Red River Valley are very fertile and will produce the full limit of any garden, fruit or field crop common to this section of the country.

    Local farmers raise cotton, corn, oats, lespedeza, kaffir corn, velvet beans, peanuts, sweet and irish potatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, peaches, apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, the finest tomatoes grown in the state, all kinds of garden vegetables, sorghum, cow pens, soy beans, alfalfa, and all pasture grasses and forage crops.

    As a livestock section Choctaw county ranks among the best in Southeast Oklahoma. Purebred dairy cows, livestock, hogs, sheep and goats are numerous throughout this region. The diary business is steadily on the increase and practically every farmer is engaged in the poultry business to a greater or less extent.

    An immense dam is now being constructed At Denison, Texas, on the Red River, which should double the value of much of the Red River valley land also bring many thousands of additional acres under cultivation.

    In the surrounding country are some of the best hunting grounds and fishing streams and lakes in Southeast Oklahoma. Quail, dove, squirrels and rabbits are plentiful and streams and lakes abound with black bass, crappie, perch, cat and other fish.

    Northeast of Hugo is the Kiamichi Mountains, National Forest, State Game Preserve and Beavers Bend State Park, the latter being one of the leading recreational centers of the Southwest. Hugo wants more people to share in her present progress and future possibilities and the stranger will receive a hearty welcome within her gates.