Paw Paw was set in a curve on the Arkansas River

Paw Paw was set in a curve on the Arkansas River. Paw Paw Road (CR 4770) runs south from Old U.S. 64 to land’s end at CR 1170 in the bottoms, which is prone to flooding. It was a thriving small community at one time, and boasted a grocery store, blacksmith shop, school and a church. Kathy Walker said a lot of the people from that community started present-day Muldrow, chief among them William J. Watts, who was instrumental in the founding of Paw Paw. A 1992 article in The Oklahoman says Paw Paw began in 1882 “and now exists in name only in a remote area of southern Sequoyah County.” According to the article, a Post Office was established Dec. 26, 1882, in what was then the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. The Post Office closed May 31, 1915. The school closed in 1951. The community was reputedly named after the pawpaw trees that once grew in the area. The area was devastated by a 1943 flood.