Lawton, Oklahoma

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Coordinates: 34°60′92″N -98°25′4″W / 35.02556, 97.58222
Lawton, Oklahoma
Nickname: L-Town
Location in the state of Oklahoma
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Comanche
Government
- Mayor	John Purcell
Area
- City	75.1 sq mi (194.6 km²)
- Land	75.1 sq mi (194.6 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	1,109 ft (360 m)
Population (2000)
- City	92,757
- Density	1,234.5/sq mi (476.6/km²)
- Metro	114,916
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	73500-73599
Area code(s)	580
FIPS code	40-41850^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1094539^[2]
Website: http://www.cityof.lawton.ok.us/

Mount Scott is the highest peak in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, 10 miles (16 km) North of Lawton

Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States.^[3] It is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded in 1901, Lawton lies in southwestern Oklahoma, near the Wichita Mountains. Lawton is the cultural and commercial center of the area. Lawton is home to large granite deposits as well as cotton fields. Fort Sill, Fort Sill Indian School, and Medicine Park are all nearby. The population was 92,757 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Establishment and history through WWII
3 Post-WWII Lawton
4 Demographics
5 Transportation
6 Media
7 Points of interest
8 Notable people from Lawton
9 Sister Cities
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

[edit] Geography

Lawton is located at 34°36′34″N, 98°25′4″W (34.609424, -98.417781)^[4], 88 miles (142 km) southwest of Oklahoma City.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 75.1 square miles (194.6 km²), all of it land.

Lawton is located south of the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, Mount Scott, and Lake Lawtonka.

Lawton is named for Major General Henry Ware Lawton (1843-1899), Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, killed in action during the Spanish-American War, at the Battle of San Mateo in the Philippines.

[edit] Establishment and history through WWII

Southwest Oklahoma was the home for many Native American tribes due to the natural resources provided by the nearby 60,000-acre (240 km²) outcropping of ancient granite now called the Wichita Mountains, with water, wildlife, vegetation, in abundance. This area is now the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge. Lawton’s history is inextricably tied to Fort Sill, established in 1869 during the hostilities in the Indian Territory.

This land was granted to the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes by the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867, which continued warring against the military until Comanche Chief Quanah Parker and his Quohada Comanches abandoned the struggle and arrived at Fort Sill in June 1875.

In 1891 the United States Congress appointed a commission under David H. Jerome to meet with the tribal leaders and come to an agreement allowing white settlement. Under pressure from the commission, Quanah Parker and the other Native American tribal leaders initially agreed to give the government control of the lands for $1.25 per acre. Each tribal member would receive a 160-acre (0.65 km²) allotment, with 400,000 acres (1,600 km²) reserved for grazing land for white cattle ranchers. After years of controversy and legal maneuvering on both sides, President William McKinley issued a proclamation which gave the government control over 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km²) for less than $1 per acre.

Upon completion of a survey, three 320-acre (1.3 km²) sites were designated as the town sites for the county seats for the Kiowa, Caddo, and Comanche Counties. Lawton was the Comanche County site, named for General Henry W. Lawton, who had been quartermaster at Fort Sill and part of the pursuit and capture of Geronimo. The Apache leader was moved with Chiricahua prisoners of war to Fort Sill in 1894, under the direction of Captain H.L. Scott. Geronimo was jailed at the Old Post Guardhouse, and he remained in the area until his death on February 17, 1909.

Few American cities have sprung up overnight. The five land runs in Indian Territory from 1889 to 1895 led to violence, fraud, and legal disputes.^[5] It was decided to open El Reno and Lawton with lotteries. On July 29, 1901, a lottery began in El Reno, Oklahoma to determine the order for filing the homestead claims. By October 1901, 5,895 homesteaders had filed claims at the Fort Sill land office.

The town was divided into 66 blocks, to be sold at auction. Two of the original homestead claims directly south of the 320 acres (1.3 km²) for Lawton were filed by James Woods and Mattie Beal, known as the Woods Addition and Beal Addition to the original Lawton plat.

On August 6, 1901, the auction of town lots began, ending sixty days later. A tent city had grown up in anticipation of the auction, and banks, saloons, stores and other service industries sprang up overnight. Within one year, there were 100 saloons. Gambling was epidemic until outlawed on Nov 16, 1907, coincident with the establishment of the State of Oklahoma.^[6] The Rock Island Railroad expanded, rolling into Lawton on September 25, 1901, joined soon thereafter by the Frisco Line.^[7]

The influx and rapid population expansion led to a series of public health crises, water shortage, and lawlessness. The first city elections were held October 24, 1901, and Leslie Price Ross was elected mayor, with voting restricted to the few who had resided in the area for over a year.^[8] One of the original two newspapers, the Lawton Daily Democrat, became the forerunner of the Lawton Constitution, which was established in 1911. In 1949, the Lawton Constitution acquired the Morning Press, and today serves southwest Oklahoma.

The First Presbyterian Church of Lawton, at 8th Street and D Avenue, was constructed in 1902, and remains the oldest public structure remaining in Lawton. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On January 2, 1902, four public schools opened. The first class of six graduated in 1903 from Lawton High School. Cameron State Agricultural School (now Cameron University) convened on November 16, 1909, in the basement of the First National Bank at 302 C Avenue. In March 1911 classes were transferred to the current location on West Gore. The Mattie Beal-Payne mansion at Fifth and Summit was built in 1908, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The demographic makeup of Lawton at its founding reflected a mix of white settlers from states near and far, the indigenous Native Americans, who generally lived outside the town, but were highly visible, often in traditional clothing as they did business in town, and a smaller African-American population.

The United States entry into World War I accelerated growth at Fort Sill and Lawton. The availability of five million gallons of water from Lake Lawtonka, just north of Fort Sill, provided the impetus for the War Department to establish a major cantonment named Camp Doniphan, active until 1922.^[9] The population doubled from about 8,800 to 17,600 as more than 50,000 soldiers passed though in training. By 1920, the city population declined again to 8,830.

In 1911 The School of Fire for the Field Artillery was opened at Fort Sill and it continues to operate today as the U.S. Army Field Artillery School.

From the stock market crash of October 1929, through the end of the 1930s, dust storms, severe winter weather, unemployment and poverty created severe economic challenges for Lawtonians. The decision at the end of 1930 to permanently locate the U.S. Army Field School at Ft Sill ended 20 years of indecision and kicked off a round of construction. Fort Sill commanders played a vital role in the implementation of Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration projects throughout the 1930s.^[10] Some of the major projects included work on dams and buildings at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, the County Courthouse, Roosevelt Stadium (Now called Ron Stephens Stadium), the road to the summit of Mount Scott, and the Holy City of the Wichitas, among others.

[edit] Post-WWII Lawton

Following World War II, Lawton enjoyed rapid and steady population growth. From 1930 to 1940, population increased from 18,055 to 34,757, and by 1960, it reached 61,697. In the 1950s, significant public facilities were built, including the new Lawton High School, the airport, the McMahon Auditorium, the National Guard Armory, and groundbreaking for the Museum of the Great Plains.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 92,757 people, 31,778 households, and 22,530 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,234.5 people per square mile (476.6/km²). There were 36,433 housing units at an average density of 484.9/sq mi (187.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.34% White, 23.06% African American, 3.81% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.44% Pacific Islander, 3.96% from other races, and 4.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.40% of the population.

There were 31,778 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 15.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,521, and the median income for a family was $37,831. Males had a median income of $27,573 versus $21,623 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,397. About 14.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Transportation

Lawton is served by Interstate Highway 44, which is also designated as the H.E. Bailey Turnpike and connects the city with Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to the northeast and Wichita Falls, Texas to the south. The city is also served by U.S. Highways 62, 277 and 281, and State highways 7 and 36, which connect Lawton with other locations in and out of Southwest Oklahoma.

The Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport offers commuter airline flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and direct flights to Atlanta.

Lawton is also served by the Lawton Area Transit System