A small town had developed that replaced the old campsites with permanent structures and was renamed "Tishomingo" by 1856.

[7] The Chickasaw Capitol Building was constructed in 1897 from local red granite and officially dedicated in 1898.

It housed the tribal governor, the bicameral legislature, and other government officials and clerks.

In 1910, the building was sold to the newly established Johnston County, organized under statehood.

[7] The Western Oklahoma Railroad was built from Haileyville to Ardmore via Tishomingo in 1902, and bought by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway in the same year.

Notables buried there include two former Oklahoma governors, William H. Murray and Johnston Murray, and Chickasaw Nation governors Douglas H. Johnson and Robert M.

[8] Pennington Creek flows through the west side of the city, leading south 2 miles (3 km) to the Washita River where it becomes an arm of Lake Texoma.

The Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, covering the bottomlands of the river and creek valleys, borders the city to the south.

32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.