Greer County, Oklahoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population is 6,061. Its county seat is Mangum6. From 1860 to 1896, the State of Texas claimed an area known as Greer County, Texas which included present-day Greer County along with neighboring areas.
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[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,667 km² (644 mi²). 1,656 km² (639 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it (0.67%) is water.
[edit] Major Highways
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Kiowa County (north)
- Jackson County (east)
- Harmon County (south)
- Beckham County (west)
[edit] History
After a dispute over the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, both the governments of the United States and the state of Texas claimed ownership of some 1.5 million acres (6,000 km²) in what was then operated as Greer County, Texas. Litigation followed, and in the case of United States v. State of Texas , issued on March 16, the Supreme Court, having original jurisdiction over the case, decided in favor of the United States. The county was then assigned to the Oklahoma Territory on May 4, 1896, and when Oklahoma became a state, in addition to becoming Greer County, the region was also further split into Harmon, Jackson, and part of Beckham counties.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 6,061 people, 2,237 households, and 1,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 4/km² (10/mi²). There were 2,788 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (4/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.46% White, 8.78% Black or African American, 2.47% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.99% from other races, and 3.02% from two or more races. 7.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,237 households out of which 25.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% were non-families. 33.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the county, the population was spread out with 20.00% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 123.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,793, and the median income for a family was $30,702. Males had a median income of $24,318 versus $18,641 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,053. About 15.00% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.40% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.
