It is located in southeastern Oklahoma, approximately 9 miles (14 km) north of the Texas state line.

[5] In the postwar 20th century, the city served as winter quarters for some circus companies and performers.

It is within the tourist area designated as Choctaw Country by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism.

They were one of what were called the "Five Civilized Tribes" of the southeastern United States, as some of their people had adopted many elements of European-American culture.

As the majority of the Choctaw allied with the Confederate South during the American Civil War, the United States government insisted on a new peace treaty with them after its end.

It crossed the north–south line Frisco had built in 1887 to connect Monett, Missouri, to Paris, Texas.

[8] At the time of its founding, Hugo was located in Kiamitia County, a part of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation.

The Kelly and Miller Brothers were recruited by Vernon and Jewell Pratt, a local couple who owned a grocery store.

Hugo became a popular wintering place for circus and rodeo companies, because of its mild climate.

An estimated twenty circuses at times were based in Hugo, and in 2018 three still operate here: Carson and Barnes, Kelly Miller, and Culpepper & Merriweather.

Olivet Cemetery was set aside as Showmen's Rest: buried here were circus owner D. R. Miller and rodeo cowboys Freckles Brown, Lane Frost, and Todd Whatley.

On December 28 a fire erupted in the central business district of Hugo, consuming five buildings and burning for four hours.

[11][12] In 1937, under the Works Progress Administration program for public art, artist Joseph Fleck painted an oil-on-canvas mural, titled The Red Man of Oklahoma Sees the First Stage Coach, in the United States post office in Hugo.

[5] Hugo is the southern terminus of the Indian Nation Turnpike, a 105-mile (169 km) four-lane highway that runs northwest to Interstate 40 in Henryetta.

Agriculture (especially cotton farming), timber, and ranching have been mainstays of the city's economy since its beginning.

Council members are elected from single-member districts, and hire a professional manager to oversee operations of the city.

U.S. Highway 271 runs south out of the city and leads 26 miles (42 km) to Paris, Texas.