[5] Holdenville traces its origin to a Creek settlement called echo, when translated means "deer".

None of the candidates won a majority, so a runoff election was held on September 10, 1908, between the two top vote-getters, Holdenville and Wetumka.

[7] Until it was named in a grand jury investigation in 1904, Holdenville was a sundown town where African Americans were not allowed to live or even wait for a train.

The area is mostly wooded and flanked by gently rolling hills, interrupted occasionally by small creeks and streams.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12 km2), all land.

The main crops have been cotton, peanuts, pecans, corn, hay, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes and orchard fruits.

Covey Corporation manufactured plastic products and employed approximately one hundred fifty workers.

Aquafarms, a catfish processing plant, and the Holdenville State Fish Hatchery also provided employment.

In the 1990s Tyson Foods' hog breeding operation and the Earl A. Davis Community Work Center created jobs.

[7] It is home to The Pork Group, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods; the Holdenville State Fish Hatchery, one of four operated by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation; the Davis Correctional Facility, a 1,600 bed medium security prison operated by the Corrections Corporation of America; and the Creek Nation Casino, one of many operated by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

The Festival includes a parade, classic car show, and an open-air market fair with dozens of booths and vendors.

[citation needed] Stroup Park is the primary recreation area in Holdenville.

[citation needed] Holdenville City Lake, in addition to providing 80% of the drinking water in Hughes County, is the area's main source of aquatic and woodland recreation.

[citation needed] The Holdenville Municipal Airport is about 1 mile northwest of the town.