Hugo is a city in southeastern Oklahoma and the county seat of Choctaw County, situated about nine miles north of the Texas state line in the region known as Little Dixie. At the 2020 census its population was 5,166. Founded in 1901, the city was named for the French novelist Victor Hugo, and it grew rapidly as a railroad hub, reaching more than 4,500 residents by 1910 with banks, hotels, newspapers, and utilities serving the surrounding timber and farming country. Hugo's most distinctive claim to fame is its circus heritage. Beginning in the 1930s, the city became a popular winter headquarters for traveling circuses, and it earned the nickname "Circus Town, USA." The Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus began wintering in Hugo in 1937, and other shows followed. That tradition is commemorated at Showmen's Rest, a section of Mount Olivet Cemetery where circus performers and show owners are buried beneath elephant statues and gravestones decorated to reflect their trades — a site that draws visitors from across the country. The city remains a working county seat and the commercial center of Choctaw County, with government, retail, timber, and services anchoring the economy. Students attend Hugo Public Schools. The city's location near the Texas border and its role as a highway crossroads make it a natural hub for the surrounding area. Recreation centers on Hugo Lake, about seven miles east on U.S. 70, where Hugo Lake State Park offers cabins, a marina, and some of the region's best crappie, bass, and catfish fishing. For those drawn to a friendly southeastern Oklahoma town with an unusual cultural legacy, Hugo offers history, community, and abundant lakeside recreation.