Boise City, Oklahoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boise City is a city in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,483 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cimarron CountyGR6. 'Boise', in the city name, is pronounced to rhyme with 'voice'. Most people from the area pronounce the two words together so that it sounds like Boy City.
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[edit] Geography
Boise City is located at (36.730115, -102.511419)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,483 people, 610 households, and 400 families residing in the city. The population density was 454.4/km² (1,180.6/mi²). There were 752 housing units at an average density of 230.4/km² (598.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.66% White, 0.20% African American, 1.69% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 13.35% from other races, and 2.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.04% of the population.
There were 610 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,071, and the median income for a family was $35,761. Males had a median income of $23,088 versus $17,679 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,821. About 14.7% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Boise City was founded in 1908 by developers J.E. Stanley and A.J. Kline, who published and distributed brochures promoting the town as an elegant, tree-lined city with paved streets, numerous businesses, railroad service, and an artesian well. They sold 3,000 lots to buyers who discovered, on their arrival, that none of the information in the brochure was true. Stanley and Kline were convicted of fraud and sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. The town nevertheless took shape and had 250 residents by 1920.
Boise City's prosperity in the 1930s was severely affected by its location at the heart of the Dust Bowl region.
Boise City was the only city in the continental United States to be bombed during World War II. The bombing occurred on July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m. by a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber. This occurred because pilots performing target practice became disoriented and mistook the lights around the town square as their target. No one was killed in the attack (only practice bombs were used and the square was deserted at the time), but the pilots were embarrassed. For the 50th anniversary of the attack, the pilots were brought back to Boise City.
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
[edit] References
- Timothy Egan, The Worst Hard Time (2006, Mariner Books).
