Historic Downtown, Poteau, Oklahoma

Historic Downtown is the home to eight Historic Buildings:
103 Dewey- (Presently J&M Carpets)- originally composed of store fronts that faced Peters Street and the railroad depot.  The courthouse was on the second floor of this building for many years.

104 Dewey- (Presently Bridgman's Furniture)- The Bridgman Family has been in continuous operation in Poteau since 1896.  Five generations of Bridgman's have ran the business.  The family has occupied this current location since 1927.

108 Dewey- (Presently Cozy Cotton's)- This building is an example of a Mesker facade from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The Mesker brothers ran two manufacturing plants that mass produced store front facdes composed of sheet metal and casty iron.  The store fronts were shipped by rail and assembled by the store owner on-site.

200 Dewey- (Presently Jazz E Jewels/Shabby Rose) This building has been home to many retail businesses.  The second floor was once occupied by doctors and lawyers.  The stone material used to construct the building was quarried locally.

The post World War II years were great times in downtown Poteau.  In the 200 Block you could go to the movies, have a beer, buy clothes, and even go to the soda fountain at the drugstore.  Most of the original buildings were destroyed by fire.  The Victory Theater stood on the site of Dewey Plaza.  Young's Drugstore was also destroyed by the fire and rebuilt.   The corner which was the Holton's Dry Good Store is now GCT Printing and the Peppercorn Antique Mall.  

225 Dewey- (Presently Chocolate Moose) This building is a pre-statehood building that once housed immigration company offices.  The business sought many people to move to the Poteau area.  Many of the older families in this region came to Indian Territory in search of a better life as a result of this companies efforts.

300 Dewey- (Presently Warehouse Willy's)  The building was built in 1909.  The second floor was orginally office space and is now an elegant home and has been featured on HGTV.

301 Dewey- (Currently vacant) The old Lowery Hotel was built  in 1922 and was advertised as "fireproof".  Each room had its own bathroom, a luxury for the time.  A resturant was located on the ground floor during World War II.  The building is the future home of the LeFlore County Historical Museum.

306 Dewey-(Presently Mountain Gateway Antiques/Sassy Cat Tea Room) the brick facade is a surviving example of pre-statehood architecutre.  Many businesses have used the building, but was best known as the New York Store.

LeFlore County Courthouse- was built in 1927 on the site of a park donated to the City of Poteau.  The jail was orginally located on the top floor.  The courthouse underwent a multi-million dollar renovation in 2006-2007. creating a new jail located on the north side of the building and an additon to the rear of the orginal building.

Poteau is very proud of the Mainstreet Matters Program in which changes will be good for the future of the downtown area.  A new streetscape project is in the works.     

"Come Visit Downtown Poteau enjoy lunch in the Pocket Park"