[5] Checotah is home to numerous antique malls, a Civil War battle site, and a downtown historic district.

[7] The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (also known as the MKT or Katy) established a railhead on the old Texas Road in 1872 that became the site of present-day Checotah.

[7] Between 1907 and 1909, the people of Checotah were involved in a dispute with nearby Eufaula known as the McIntosh County Seat War.

Soon after, a group of heavily armed men from Chectotah attempted to seize the records from the courthouse in Eufaula, but were beaten back and forced to surrender during the gunfight that followed.

[8] Checotah was on the route of the Jefferson Highway established in 1915, with that road running more than 2,300 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba to New Orleans, Louisiana.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 sq mi (23 km2), of which 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.67%) is covered by water.

Checotah considers itself the host of the Honey Springs Battlefield,[10] which is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast of town.