| Elk City, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location of Elk City, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Beckham |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.9 sq mi (38.6 km2) |
| • Land | 14.6 sq mi (37.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,919 ft (585 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 11,693 |
| • Density | 784.8/sq mi (302.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 73644, 73648 |
| Area code(s) | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-23500[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1092527[2] |
| Website | http://www.elkcity.com/ http://www.elkcitychamber.com/ |
Elk City is a city in Beckham County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 11,693 at the 2010 census. Elk City is located on Interstate 40 and Historic U.S. Route 66 in Western Oklahoma, approximately 110 miles (180 km) west of Oklahoma City and 150 miles (240 km) east of Amarillo.
Contents |
In 1541, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado became the first known European to pass through the area. The Spanish conquistador was traveling northeast across the prairie in search of a place called Quivira, a city said to be fabulously wealthy with gold. Because Coronado's route across the plains is speculative,[3] it is quite possible that the expedition passed through present-day Elk City or the nearby area.
Elk City's history dates back to the days immediately following the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in western Oklahoma Territory on April 19, 1892, when the first white settlers made their appearance. Prior to this time, many early ranchers had driven cattle over the Great Western Cattle Trail from Texas to Dodge City, Kansas, the present townsite of Elk City being in the direct path of that famous trail.
The creation of Elk City was an idea conceived by Beeks Erick, M.G. Robinson, Charles H. Dewaide, J.N. Cook, and B.C. Hendricks—all of whom were land promoters from Weatherford, Oklahoma—when they learned that the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO & G) was coming to the area (in 1898, the CO & G Railroad completed its western route to Weatherford; beginning in 1901, it continued building west). They formed the Choctaw Townsite and Development Company. These men with great foresight determined that the area at the source of Elk Creek would be an ideal location for a town, so they came to the area to purchase lands from the homesteaders who had claims along the railroad.
Probably the most important day in Elk City's history is March 20, 1901, the date the first lots were sold by the Choctaw Townsite and Development Company, which company had, a few days earlier, purchased the site for the business district from J.M. "Joe" Allee, a settler who homesteaded the land.
By the date of the sale of the lots, March 20, hundreds of prospective purchasers had built a tent city. On that day, the townsite company sold $32,000 worth of property (about $820,000 in today's money), and continued doing a good business for some time thereafter. A legal document in the Beckham County clerk's office certifies that the city was surveyed and platted into lots, blocks, streets, and alleys, on March 18, 1901, just two days prior to the sale of the lots.[4]
There is some confusion about how Elk City got its name. Elk City was so named because it is located at the head of Elk Creek, which in turn was named by U.S. Army Captain Randolph B. Marcy who was leading an expedition to explore the Red River in 1852. Marcy and his troops had left the Wichita Mountains and the waterway which he named Otter Creek during his exploration, and they were traveling northwest along the North Fork of the Red River. On May 31, in the official journal of the expedition, Marcy wrote about the productive soil, the dense grass, and the vertical red clay banks of a "bold running stream of good water." Continuing, he wrote, "From the circumstance of having seen elk tracks upon the stream we passed in our march today, I have called it 'Elk Creek'. I am informed by our guide that five years since, elk were frequently seen in the Wichita Mountains; but now they are seldom met with in this part of the country." Confusion also stems from the early post offices that served the residents of the town. Even though the town of Elk City has had only one name, its early settlers were served by a post office named Crowe, and later, one named Busch. Consequently, on many early maps of Oklahoma Territory the names of "Crowe" or "Busch" are seen instead of "Elk City". Finally, on July 20, 1907, shortly before statehood, the Busch Post Office had its name officially changed to Elk City Post Office.
August 13, 1901, was another great day for Elk City. On that date, the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (later purchased by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in 1904) laid its last rail on the so-called "Choctaw Route", connecting Elk City with the outside world. The first regular train service commenced seven days later on August 20, and city folk rejoiced, predicting that the dugouts, claim shacks, and prairie stables would soon disappear and be replaced by handsome residences, commodious barns, and graineries. (Later, in 1910, the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway Company (WF & NW, acquired by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in 1911) completed its northern route to Elk City.)
By January 1902, Elk City boasted more than 60 businesses and a population exceeding 1,000.[4] Paving the streets with bricks also began in 1902, due to an effort from the many people the city employed.[5] Though not yet a year old, the town had become one of the largest in Western Oklahoma. Even with two devastating fires (one on October 28, 1903, which destroyed over a dozen businesses, and the other in March 1906 which burned 16 businesses to the ground), Elk City continued to grow into a major transportation and commercial hub, and by statehood in 1907, the population had more than tripled to 3,000 people. Elk City, the new town on the prairie, was truly a boomtown.
Elk City is located at (35.402694, -99.423812)[6], elevation 1,928 feet (588 m).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 square miles (39 km2), of which, 14.6 square miles (38 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (1.88%) is water.
Elk City experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with cool, dry winters and hot, much wetter summers.
| Climate data for Elk City, OK | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 84 (29) |
90 (32) |
97 (36) |
100 (38) |
106 (41) |
111 (44) |
111 (44) |
110 (43) |
108 (42) |
103 (39) |
88 (31) |
88 (31) |
111 (44) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 46.8 (8.2) |
53.1 (11.7) |
61.3 (16.3) |
70.7 (21.5) |
78.5 (25.8) |
87.5 (30.8) |
92.6 (33.7) |
91.3 (32.9) |
83.7 (28.7) |
73.2 (22.9) |
58.7 (14.8) |
48.7 (9.3) |
70.51 (21.39) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 34.5 (1.4) |
39.8 (4.3) |
47.7 (8.7) |
57.3 (14.1) |
66.3 (19.1) |
75.7 (24.3) |
80.3 (26.8) |
79.0 (26.1) |
71.5 (21.9) |
60.3 (15.7) |
46.6 (8.1) |
37.1 (2.8) |
58.01 (14.45) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 22.1 (−5.5) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
34.0 (1.1) |
43.8 (6.6) |
54.0 (12.2) |
63.8 (17.7) |
68.0 (20.0) |
66.7 (19.3) |
59.3 (15.2) |
47.4 (8.6) |
34.5 (1.4) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
45.46 (7.48) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −12 (−24) |
−4 (−20) |
−3 (−19) |
21 (−6) |
31 (−1) |
42 (6) |
50 (10) |
45 (7) |
28 (−2) |
17 (−8) |
9 (−13) |
−9 (−23) |
−12 (−24) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.85 (21.6) |
1.20 (30.5) |
2.43 (61.7) |
2.45 (62.2) |
4.86 (123.4) |
4.02 (102.1) |
2.18 (55.4) |
2.88 (73.2) |
2.98 (75.7) |
2.24 (56.9) |
1.65 (41.9) |
1.05 (26.7) |
28.79 (731.3) |
| Source no. 1: NOAA (normals, 1971-2000) [7] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: The Weather Channel (Records) [8] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 3,165 |
|
|
| 1920 | 2,814 | −11.1% | |
| 1930 | 5,666 | 101.4% | |
| 1940 | 5,029 | −11.2% | |
| 1950 | 7,963 | 58.3% | |
| 1960 | 8,196 | 2.9% | |
| 1970 | 7,323 | −10.7% | |
| 1980 | 9,569 | 30.7% | |
| 1990 | 10,428 | 9.0% | |
| 2000 | 10,510 | 0.8% | |
| 2010 | 11,693 | 11.3% | |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 10,510 people, 4,159 households, and 2,819 families residing in the city. The population density was 718.8 people per square mile (277.6/km²). There were 4,973 housing units at an average density of 340.1 per square mile (131.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.95% White, 3.06% African American, 3.02% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.25% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.96% of the population.
There were 4,159 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,268, and the median income for a family was $35,383. Males had a median income of $28,380 versus $18,977 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,654. About 15.4% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Today, Elk City is the principal center of trade for Western Oklahoma and much of the Texas Panhandle, with a 60-mile (97 km) trade radius that serves more than 50,000 people. Petroleum, agriculture, wind energy, transportation, tourism, manufacturing, and healthcare all contribute to Elk City’s economy.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter has visited Elk City twice. As the Democratic candidate for President, he first came on November 11, 1975, as part of his campaign tour across the United States, and held a press conference with statewide and national coverage at a local hotel. A month after his visit to Elk City, Carter wrote an open letter to the people of Elk City praising the town for the warm welcome he had received. He also wrote, "I promise you that when I am elected President I will not be a stranger to Elk City, nor will you be strangers to me."
True to his promise, President Carter returned to Elk City on Saturday, March 24, 1979, flying into the Air Force base in Burns Flat, Oklahoma and rode in a presidential limo to Elk City. The city had a street parade in his honor, and he then went to the high school gymnasium for a town hall meeting with about 3,000 people. That night, he stayed at the residence of Frances Loraine Wade, mother of the Larry R. Wade. On Sunday morning, he attended services at the First Baptist Church of Elk City and then flew out of town.
On August 7, 2009, Carter remembered the visit to Elk City fondly when he talked with the Associated Press. "I visited at least 50 places for town hall meetings when I was president, and the best one I ever had in my life was in Elk City," he said.[17]
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
