 Cotton farming had taken place around Kiamichi since territorial times, and a sizable African-American population came to live there.In later decades, with the eclipse of cotton and other agriculture to cattle ranching, the African-American population departed for elsewhere, generally to the south, in search of greater social and economic opportunities.More information on Kiamichi, its former African-American residents, and the Kiamichi River valley may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society.