Fort Gibson is a town in eastern Oklahoma, in Muskogee County, with a small portion extending into Cherokee County. It lies in the state's eastern hill country, about ten miles northeast of Muskogee and near the Arkansas River valley, in a region of wooded, rolling terrain. The town takes its name and identity from Fort Gibson, established in 1824 as Cantonment Gibson by Colonel Matthew Arbuckle. The fort is considered the oldest frontier fort in Oklahoma, and the settlement that grew around it is one of the oldest non-Indian communities in the state. Over its long history the town recorded a series of regional firsts, including early telephone service, a drama theater, and a steamboat landing on the Arkansas River. That military and frontier heritage is preserved today at the Fort Gibson Historical Site, which interprets the fort's role on the western frontier, and the Fort Gibson National Cemetery, a resting place for veterans that remains in active use. These sites anchor the town's identity and draw visitors interested in Oklahoma's early history. Modern Fort Gibson functions as a small residential and service community. Its schools, churches, and local businesses serve the town and the surrounding countryside, while Fort Gibson Lake, a Corps of Engineers reservoir just north of town, provides the area's principal recreation. Many residents commute to Muskogee or Tahlequah for work, and the town's small size and deep historical roots distinguish it from the larger communities nearby. Proximity to both Muskogee and Tahlequah places larger employment, shopping, and healthcare within a short drive, and the town's position in the eastern Oklahoma lake country shapes its character as a quiet, historically rooted community.