[4] The area now included in McCurtain County was part of the Choctaw Nation before Oklahoma became a state.

[3] Beavers Bend State Park was opened in 1937, establishing the region as a tourism destination due to the variety of recreational activities it offers.

[6] Main article: Death of Henry Lee Johnson Henry Lee Johnson was a 15-year-old boy who was murdered in 1980 in Idabel after entering the parking lot of the Black Hat Club, a "whites-only club".

[7] In April 2023, the McCurtain Gazette-News released audio recordings of discussions among local officials about hiring a hit man to murder the paper's publisher and a reporter, Chris Willingham, and lamenting that lynching Black people was no longer acceptable.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said that he was "both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County".

Stitt called for the local officials to resign, including "McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix.

[9] In response, the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Facebook reading: There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act ... which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation ...

There will be continued press releases from this agency as the investigation comes to a close and findings are forwarded to the appropriate authorities for felony charges to be filed on those involved.

[9] Willingham also filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Manning "told a third party during a teleconference that Chris Willingham exchanged marijuana for sexually explicit images of children from a man who had been arrested on child sex-abuse image charges".

[9] On June 18, 2024, Clardy lost his bid for reelection, placing third in the Republican primary with 18.26% of the vote.

[15] The county contains the location (Smithville) with the highest annual average precipitation in the state, at 55.71 inches.

The dense forests that originally covered the area were cleared and processed within two decades after statehood.

Cattle raising, as well as production of swine and poultry, replaced cotton farming in importance.

Cotton farms in the Red River Valley began raising grains and forage, instead.

[3] Natural reseeding and active reforestation projects, both public and private, have replenished much of the harvested forest area.