First-Timer Guide

Hochatown is a small town nestled in the Ouachita Mountains of southeast Oklahoma, near Broken Bow Lake and Beavers Bend State Park. Named for a Choctaw man, Hocha, who arrived on the Trail of Tears, the original town was established in the 1830s when displaced Choctaw families settled in the Mountain Fork River Valley. By the 1880s, twelve Choctaw families had built a thriving community. The lumber industry brought growth in the early 1900s, and Hochatown even earned the nickname "Moonshine Capital of Oklahoma" during Prohibition — an estimated 80% of families were involved in manufacturing, selling, or transporting moonshine. In the 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Mountain Fork River to create Broken Bow Lake. The entire town — post office, general store, homes, churches, and cemetery — was relocated to higher ground along Highway 259. The original Hochatown now rests beneath over 200 feet of water, and scuba divers can still explore its remnants. After decades as a quiet community, Hochatown experienced a massive tourism boom starting around 2020, with cabin rentals surging over 400%. In November 2022, residents voted 129-18 to officially reincorporate. Today it's one of Oklahoma's most vibrant destinations, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each weekend.