In 1902, the Choctaw Land Commission selected a new site along the railroad that was being constructed across what would become McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The site, which would reclaim the name Garvin, was halfway between Valliant and Purnell (later renamed Idabel). The new Garvin began to develop rapidly. The first newspaper to serve that part of the country was the "Garvin Graphic", which began publishing in 1903. A school opened in September, 1904, with an enrollment of 50 students. A cotton gin began operation in the same year. In 1905, Garvin had a telephone system. Garvin had a population of 800 in 1906, 15 stores had opened by then and several professional people (e.g., doctors and lawyers) had established practices.