Rock Creek flows past just west of the community center and Hugo Lake lies to the south in adjacent Choctaw County.

[6] Originally overshadowed by the nearby white settlement of Belzoni, Oklahoma, Rattan did not become economically successful enough to merit its own United States Post Office until December 12, 1910, with its first postmaster being Moses A.

Prior to establishment of its post office with the name “Rattan”, the area was called Sulphur Springs, Indian Territory.

The Cedar County Court House was torn down by white settlers sometime after Oklahoma’s statehood in 1907, after which it ceased serving any legal use.

[8] The Court House was located about 200 yards north of the Sulphur Springs and 1/4 mile due west of Rattan Cemetery.

A number of logging trams, or railroad lines, were built into the mountains and large camps of loggers and their dependents lived along the tracks for months on end.

These mobile, rolling communities were sizeable enough to feature small schools, physicians offices, and general stores.

Rattan became the Great Depression-era recipient of a handsome public school built by the Works Progress Administration.

School students from Rattan made news headlines during 2000 as they initiated a series of events with international repercussions.

These events had receded from memory and were generally forgotten until a history class in the Rattan Public School began pursuing information about them.

Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony, and the story of it and Rattan's intrepid young scholars was carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation and many newspapers around the world.

More information on Rattan, Sulphur Springs, the AT6 Monument, and the Kiamichi River valley may be found in the Pushmataha County Historical Society.