Bearden, Oklahoma

Bearden is a small town in Okfuskee County, deep within the historic territory of the Muscogee Nation. The town is said to take its name from an early settler named Bearden, who opened a store and post office in what was then Indian Territory. The county itself takes its name from the old Creek town of Okfuskee, which stood in present-day Cleburne County, Alabama, before the Muscogee people were forcibly removed west in the eighteen thirties. Bearden the town remained a modest rural community, growing slowly after Oklahoma statehood in nineteen oh seven and today serving as a quiet reminder of the layered history written into every address in this part of the state.