Valliant was founded in 1902 as a
result of the building of the railroad. A post office was officially
opened here in 1902. The town of Valliant was named after Frank
Valliant, an engineer with the railroad. This distinction came
when the first Postmaster, Hosea Fowler, sold the first money order
to Frank Valliant.
The land that Valliant is on was originally designated as Indian
land and was part of the Choctaw Nation.
In 1904 the town was incorporated and the first mayor, Ransom Turley,
was elected. A cotton gin was built in 1903 and flourished until
the cotton market declined.
During the 1930's Valliant had numerous Works Progress Administration
(WPA) and National Youth Association (NYA) projects. One of these
was the brick high school, gymnasium and shop building. The old
rock gymnasium remains to this day.
In the 1960's the Pine Creek Dam
was built to control flooding. This brought new families to town
and the lake draws people to the area for recreational activities.
The Weyerhaeuser Paper Mill, built in 1970 and the largest
in the world at that time, brought jobs and prosperity to the Valliant
area.
Watermelon Festival - August
Valliant City Park
The mill in Valliant makes brown container
board paper. Weyerhaeuser owns and harvests trees of the lands around
Valliant and opens up to the public for hunting.
In 1989, the construction of the Terry-Hunt Community building
was started, it also houses the Mattie Terry Public Library.
This facility comes from the donation of land by Jackie Blackard,
a granddaughter of the Terry family, and a grant from the Ruth
Ray Hunt Philanthropic Fund. The Community Center was named
in honor of James B. Ray, a longtime McCurtain County Clerk
and Mrs. Hunt's brother.
The face of Valliant has changed over time but you can still see
glimpses of the years gone by. Families come and go but many remain
to raise generations of children.
Valliant has a hometown atmosphere that doesn't age as time goes
by. It is a place to come back and remember the past.
The mild year round climate affords the outdoor enthusiast the opportunity
to take advantage of many activities. An annual rain fall of 50
inches and an average temperature of 60 degrees makes for pleasant
days with abundant sunshine.
Lush forests surround the landscape as a variety of hard wood trees
make for a rich mix of color in the fall and shade in the summer.
Lakes and rivers are plentiful for fishing, hunting and watersports.
U.S. Highway 70 runs through town and can bring you here from anywhere.
