Biohazard Cleanup Near Haskell Historic District Haskell, OK

Haskell is a city in Muskogee County, located 19 miles northwest of Muskogee on U.S. Highway 64.

Haskell was established in 1904 on the Midland Valley Railroad, near the older Muscogee (Creek) Nation town of Sawokla, a Hitchiti town that had been the home of Creek Chief Samuel Checote.

The town was named for Charles N. Haskell, the townsite developer who became the first governor of Oklahoma in 1907.

Haskell's original eighty-acre tract was purchased from Amos Rolland, a member of the Creek Nation, and its first store, S. Beshara and Brothers, was started in a tent by two immigrants from Syria.

Haskell's first post office was established in 1902, and the Haskell National Bank was organized in 1904.

The railroad allowed Haskell-area farmers to ship grain, hay, corn, melons, and cotton to northern and eastern markets.

Gas and oil were discovered near Haskell in 1910, sparking a boom that pushed the population from 857 in 1910 to 2,196 in 1920 and brought paved streets, concrete sidewalks, electric lights, natural gas lines, and water works.

Haskell had 1,626 residents at the 2020 census, down about 19% from 2,007 in 2010.

The Tulsa-Muskogee Turnpike, completed in 1969, bypassed Haskell and diverted much road traffic away from U.S. Highway 64, costing local businesses revenue.

In March 2024, Haskell's citizens voted to change the community from a town to a city-manager form of government.