Big Mountain is a mountain in

Pushmataha County, Oklahoma Pushmataha County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,812. Its county seat is Antlers. The county was created at statehood from part of the former territory of the ...

. It is part of the

Kiamichi Mountains The Kiamichi Mountains (Choctaw: ''Nʋnih Chaha Kiamitia'') are a mountain range in southeastern Oklahoma. A subrange within the larger Ouachita Mountains that extend from Oklahoma to western Arkansas, the Kiamichi Mountains sit within Le Flor ...

, a subrange of the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

Geology

The summit of Big Mountain is 1,145 feet above sea level. It is located 5.5 miles northeast of

Moyers, Oklahoma Moyers is an unincorporated community located in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. History A permanent settlement has existed at the site of modern Moyers since at least the 1880s. During the 1880s the St. Louis-San Francisco Rail ...

.USGS data made available on http://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/detail.asp?fid=1900456. Buck Creek forms its southern limit. Pine Creek forms its northern limit. The

Kiamichi River The Kiamichi River is a river in southeastern Oklahoma, United States of America. A tributary of the Red River of the South, its headwaters rise on Pine Mountain in the Ouachita Mountains near the Arkansas border. From its source in Polk County, ...

forms its eastern limit, and Kimbrough Creek forms its western limit. The mountain is considered to form the southern geographic limit of Johns Valley.

History

Big Mountain has also in the past been called Deer Mountain. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the area was the site of two lethal air crashes. British pilots operating from a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

base in Texas crashed into White Rock Mountain and Big Mountain, killing four crew men. Two planes were destroyed. On February 20, 2000 the

AT6 Monument The AT6 Monument is a granite memorial to Royal Air Force cadets who were killed while on a training flight during World War II. It stands on Big Mountain, north of Moyers, Oklahoma, in the United States, and was dedicated on February 20, 2000— ...

was dedicated in the fliers' honor at the crash site on Big Mountain. Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony, and the story was carried by the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

and many newspapers around the world.

Development

Big Mountain is the entry point for a vast acreage known locally as the Kiamichi Wilderness. The Wilderness was subdivided during the 1970s and 1980s as a land development scheme. It remains highly rural and isolated. There are relatively few homes; most dwellings are cabins. Phase One of the Kiamichi Wilderness, closer to the front of the mountain, contains passable roads. Electric and telephone service extend partway into the area. Phases Two and Three, each ranging successively to the west, are progressively isolated, and Phase Three is reachable only during dry weather, when creeks may be forded. Many of the landowners are from the

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

area and visit on weekends. They are known locally as “weekend warriors”. The residents of Big Mountain, although living in scattered isolation, have developed a cohesive social network which has spawned regular gatherings and support ranging from Friday night rattlesnake fries to a volunteer fire department. The only entry to the area is via the road from the Kiamichi River valley. During the Kiamichi Wilderness's early years this was controlled by a guard shack. During recent years, the entrance is monitored 24/7 by cameras and is patrolled frequently by a security officer. Land Owners and their guests are the only ones allowed on the mountain. The

is a short way into Phase One from the guard shack, with good roads and a directional sign allowing for easy access.

References

{{Mountains of Oklahoma Mountains of Oklahoma Landforms of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma