Adair County occupies Oklahoma’s eastern edge, where Stilwell serves as the county seat and Westville, Watts, Proctor, Christie, Peavine, and smaller communities are scattered through Ozark hill country. Arkansas lies directly east, Delaware County to the north, Cherokee County to the west, and Sequoyah County to the south. U.S. 59 provides the clearest north-south route through Stilwell, Westville, and Watts, while State Highways 51, 100, and 244 provide important east-west references. The page separates roads and settlements, community connections, waterways, and elevation, and high-resolution JPG originals of all four supplied maps are available in the download ZIP.
The landscape is far more dissected than a typical plains county. Stilwell’s official city material places the community in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains and identifies the Illinois River, Barren Fork, Evansville Creek, and Caney Creek among the area’s waterways. The supplied maps show the same basic geography: low river corridors cut through a dense network of ridges, with especially rugged ground across the southern and eastern portions of the county.
Table of Contents
U.S. 59 connects Stilwell with Westville and the Arkansas-side north
The general county map places Stilwell in the south-central portion, where the largest developed area, rail line, and several major roads come together. U.S. 59 runs north from Stilwell toward Peavine, Westville, and Watts. State Highway 51 approaches from the west through the Christie area and reaches Westville, while State Highway 100 crosses the Stilwell area and continues into the hills. Highway 244 provides another reference near the eastern boundary.
Westville is the strongest northeastern settlement after Stilwell and sits close to the U.S. 59 corridor. Watts is farther north, very near the Arkansas state line. Chewey lies in the northwestern hill country near the Illinois River, while Proctor and Christie occupy the western side of the route between Stilwell and Westville. The road pattern bends repeatedly around valleys instead of forming the straight grid found in flatter parts of Oklahoma.
South and west of Stilwell, places such as Cherry Tree, Bunch, Greasy, Wauhillau, Rocky Mountain, and Lyons Switch are separated by large areas of hill country. Local roads split around ridges and creek valleys, and the Arkansas border forms a long eastern edge. The map also makes the county’s narrow north-south shape clear, with Oklahoma county boundaries on three sides and Arkansas on the fourth.
Adair County Courthouse is located on West Division in Stilwell, and the City of Stilwell identifies itself as the county seat. That administrative role matches the map’s concentration of streets and transportation around Stilwell. The road layer is intended for geographic orientation rather than current construction, travel time, or closure information.
The connection map reduces the county to three key communities
The city-connections map uses Stilwell as the hub and highlights Westville and Watts to the northeast. Stilwell anchors the south-central county, Westville lies farther up the U.S. 59 corridor, and Watts sits near the Arkansas line in the far northeast. Because only three communities are emphasized, the map makes the county’s main northbound settlement sequence unusually easy to see.
The connection labels show about 12 miles from Stilwell to Westville and about 20 miles from Stilwell to Watts. Those are direct distances, not road mileage. Driving routes can be longer because U.S. 59 and local roads follow the shape of the terrain rather than a straight line.
The CITY CONNECTIONS panel also includes values beside the community names, but those figures belong to the supplied map and are not reused here as current official population estimates. The reliable geographic takeaway is the alignment: Stilwell is the hub, Westville is the intermediate northeastern center, and Watts lies farther north along the state-border side.
Illinois River and Baron Fork cut broad low corridors through the hills
The largest water feature on the supplied map is the Illinois River across the northern county. It makes broad bends between steeply dissected ridges and forms a low corridor that stands out on both the water and elevation views. Tyner Creek enters the northwestern drainage, while many shorter tributaries descend from the surrounding Ozark slopes.
Baron Fork crosses the central part of the county from west to east and creates another long valley. Shorter creeks descend toward it from both sides, breaking the central uplands into narrow ridges. City of Stilwell historical material lists the Illinois River, Barren Fork, Evansville Creek, and Caney Creek among the county’s notable waters, reinforcing the importance of this dense drainage network.
South of the central valley, Caney Creek, Sallisaw Creek, Evansville Creek, and Little Lee Creek occupy separate hollows. Stilwell City Lake appears southwest of Stilwell near the Sallisaw Creek drainage. The farther south the map goes, the more tightly the tributaries cut into the hills, leaving narrow valley floors between higher ridges.
The City of Stilwell maintains several recreation sites, including Adair Park and C.J. Carson Lake, which shows how local water features also support outdoor use. The supplied water map remains a geographic reference only. It should not be used as a flood-hazard map, legal water-boundary record, current depth or flow chart, or boating-navigation product.
Elevation from about 192 to 534 meters shows strong Ozark relief
The elevation legend reports an actual county range of about 192 to 534 meters, with a mean near 325 meters. The lowest green terrain follows the Illinois River in the north and Baron Fork across the middle. Orange and brown ridges become much more common south and east of those valleys, producing a level of local relief that is far greater than in Oklahoma’s broad western plains.
The northwestern side is deeply cut by the Illinois River and its tributaries, with green valley floors enclosed by higher ridges. Baron Fork creates another major low band through the central county. South of that corridor, the terrain becomes more fragmented, with many short creeks separating closely spaced ridges.
High ground is especially noticeable south of Stilwell and along parts of the Arkansas-side eastern edge. Some of the darkest brown ridges occur near the southeastern boundary, while southwestern hills are repeatedly interrupted by green creek valleys. This relief fits Stilwell’s official description of the area as lying in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.
Brown represents the high end of Adair County’s locally scaled map, with the county maximum shown at about 534 meters. The elevation image is useful for county-scale comparison of ridges and valleys, not site engineering. Exact parcel elevations, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements require original USGS data or professional surveying.
Stilwell sits between the northern river country and rugged southern hills
Using Stilwell as a fixed reference makes the county’s north-south contrast easy to understand. Traveling toward Westville and Watts follows U.S. 59 toward the Illinois River side of the county. Heading south toward Cherry Tree, Bunch, and Greasy leads into more rugged terrain where short tributaries and ridges repeat over small distances.
The western interior has its own character. Wauhillau and Rocky Mountain sit among broad wooded hills, while Baron Fork and the Sallisaw Creek drainage create lower corridors through that terrain. Roads follow these openings, which is why the western route pattern is more curved and fragmented than a simple county-grid map might suggest.
Along the eastern side, Westville and Watts remain closely tied to U.S. 59 and the Arkansas border, but the interior quickly becomes hillier. Evansville Creek, Little Lee Creek, and other tributaries create narrow valleys below higher ridges. In Adair County, combining the settlement map with the relief and water layers is often more informative than looking at town locations alone.
Choose the Adair County map for roads, water, or relief
Use the general map when you need Stilwell, Westville, Watts, Proctor, Peavine, U.S. 59, and State Highways 51, 100, and 244 together. The city-connections view is better for comparing the direction and straight-line distance from Stilwell to Westville and Watts. Choose the water map for the Illinois River, Baron Fork, Caney Creek, Sallisaw Creek, and Stilwell City Lake.
The elevation map is the clearest choice for comparing low river corridors with the much higher southern and eastern ridges. The WebP previews on the page are convenient for quick viewing, while the high-resolution JPG originals in the ZIP below are better for printing and zooming into small road and creek labels. These maps are regional reference products and should not replace legal parcel records, live navigation, flood determinations, or survey-grade elevation data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Stilwell and Westville positioned on the map?
Stilwell lies in the south-central county, while Westville is northeast along the U.S. 59 corridor. The connection map shows a straight-line distance of about 12 miles between them, although road mileage can be longer.
Where does the Illinois River cross Adair County?
The Illinois River crosses the northern part of the county in broad bends through the hill country. It is the strongest northern water feature on the water map and appears as a broad low green corridor on the elevation map.
Can the 192–534 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation layer is intended for county-scale comparison of river valleys and Ozark ridges. Exact parcel elevations, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements should come from original USGS data or a professional survey.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG originals of the Adair County general map, city-connections map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Adair County Courthouse – official county offices and courthouse location in Stilwell
- City of Stilwell · Community Links – Adair County boundaries and Stilwell county-seat context
- City of Stilwell · History – Ozark foothills, major roads, Illinois River, Barren Fork, and other local waterways
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – county boundaries and geographic reference data
- USGS National Hydrography – rivers, streams, lakes, and hydrography reference data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation and terrain reference data
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
