Choctaw, Oklahoma

Choctaw is the oldest chartered town in Oklahoma. Choctaw physically became a community in 1890, but was not given actual status as a town until 1893 when a territorial governor was appointed for Oklahoma. It officially celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1993.^[3] In 1950, Choctaw was in an agricultural area. It had a population of 355 in that year.^[4]

Before Choctaw was chartered, the area included a part of William McClure's 7C Ranch and was known for a trading post and a camping spot near a spring.^[5]

A community emerged on the east 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land John S. Muzzy claimed in the 1889 land run and received a postal designation in early 1890.^[5]

The town incorporated April 1904. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the town had 230 residents, four churches, a school, a bank, a newspaper and telephone service. By 1909, the town had three gins. The population grew very little during the Great Depression.^[5]

Geography

Choctaw is located at (35.482383, -97.267330)^[6].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.1 square miles (70 km²), of which, 27.1 square miles (70 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.07%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2010, there were 11,146 people, 3,450 households, and 2,808 families residing in the city. The population density was 346.4 people per square mile (133.7/km²). There were 3,617 housing units at an average density of 133.6 per square mile (51.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.80% White, 1.64% African American, 3.70% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 4.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.

There were 3,450 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,291, and the median income for a family was $55,437. Males had a median income of $36,540 versus $27,914 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,041. About 3.7% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2009, Choctaw's population has grown to 11,118 people, a population growth of 15.21 percent since 2000.^[7]

Arts and Culture

Choctaw is home to Old Germany Restaurant, a business opened on March 1, 1976.^[8] Every year, the restaurant's owners work with the city and chamber of commerce to hold an annual, eight-day Oktoberfest event featuring German food, beer, wine and dancing. The town is also the home of a small museum dedicated to steins called the Stramski Collection. ^[9]

Education

Choctaw contains a career technology school, the Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center, and a number of schools in the Choctaw-Nicoma Park public school district.

Choctaw public schools spend $4,133 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 15 students per teacher in Choctaw.^[10]

Notable residents

• Christie Volkmer, The Amazing Race 14^[11] contestant
• Ryan Merriman, actor^[12]
• Ashlynn Brooke, former pornographic actress
• Lyle H. Boren, former U.S. Congressmen, father of David L. Boren (current University of Oklahoma President)
• The Twitch Show an internet series housed on Youtube, which consists mainly of movie reviews and comedy sketches, is based in Choctaw Oklahoma, Though a running gag in the series is that their location is never revealed. The host of the show, The Twitch was raised in Choctaw Oklahoma but was born in Hawaii

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ City of Choctaw website
4. ^ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 403
5. ^ ^{a b c} Everett, Dianna. Choctaw, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed January 20, 2010)
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
7. ^ Choctaw, Oklahoma, Sperling's Best Places. [1] (accessed January 20, 2010)
8. ^ History of Old Germany Restaurant, accessed January 25, 2010.
9. ^ Oktoberfest, Old Germany Restaurant, accessed January 25, 2010.
10. ^ Choctaw, Oklahoma, Sperling's Best Places. [2] (accessed January 20, 2009)
11. ^ The Amazing Race 14
12. ^ Ryan Merriman at the Internet Movie Database (accessed January 20, 2010)

External links

• City of Choctaw
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Choctaw (City)
• Choctaw Times