Gore, Oklahoma

Gore, Oklahoma
Town

Location of Gore, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 35°31′58″N 95°6′54″W / 35.53278°N 95.11500°W / 35.53278; -95.11500Coordinates: 35°31′58″N 95°6′54″W / 35.53278°N 95.11500°W / 35.53278; -95.11500
Country United States
State Oklahoma
County Sequoyah
Established Date of Decision: January 29, 1902 Officially Established: May 24, 1902
Government
 • Mayor Ryan Callison
 • Vice Mayor Bob Warren
 • Clerk -unfilled-
 • Administrator Horace E. Lindley
 • Treasurer -unfilled-
Area
 • Total 2.3 sq mi (5.9 km2)
 • Land 2.3 sq mi (5.9 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 495 ft (151 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 977
 • Density 372.4/sq mi (143.8/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 74435
Area code(s) 539/918
FIPS code 40-30300[1]
GNIS feature ID 1093268[2]
Website www.townofgore.org

Gore is a town in western Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 977 at the 2010 census, an increase of 15 percent from 850 at the 2000 census.[3]

Gore claims to be the "trout capital of Oklahoma", with great fishing in Lake Tenkiller, the Illinois River, and the Arkansas River.[4]

History

This community began as a small settlement in Indian Territory known as Campbell, named for Dr. W. W. Campbell, who, along with Joe Lynch, operated a ferry across the Arkansas River between Campbell and Webbers Falls. Tahlonteskee, the capital of the Western Cherokee from 1828–1839, was near here, just two miles to the north of town.[lower-alpha 1] In 1829, John Jolly, chief of the Cherokee Nation–West, built a home in this area.

The settlement was also known as Illinois Station or "Illinois Station, Campbell Post Office." It became a stage stop on the route between Fort Gibson and Fort Smith. A post office designation of Campbell was assigned to Dr. Campbell's store in 1888. Also in 1888, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (later the Missouri Pacific Railway) built a rail line through the settlement.[5]

By 1909, the town had a bank, two lumber companies, a flour mill, a cotton gin, two hotels, and numerous retail outlets. The town changed its name on October 22, 1909 in honor of Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore, who was serving as one of Oklahoma's U. S. senators immediately after statehood. A fire destroyed most of the business district in 1909. Gore had a population of 319 by the 1910 U. S. census.[5]

The Kerr-McGee Company built a uranium mill on a 300 acres (120 ha) tract located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Gore to convert uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride (UF6).[lower-alpha 2] The UF6 plant was bought by General Atomics in 1988, and closed in 1993.[5]

Geography

Gore is located at 35°31′58″N 95°06′54″W / 35.532851°N 95.115032°W / 35.532851; -95.115032.[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1910316—
19203294.1%
1930297−9.7%
194033412.5%
195038715.9%
1960334−13.7%
197047843.1%
1980445−6.9%
199069055.1%
200085023.2%
201097714.9%
Est. 2015944[7]−3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 850 people, 368 households, and 257 families residing in the town. The population density was 372.4 people per square mile (143.9/km2). There were 416 housing units at an average density of 182.3 per square mile (70.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 68.59% White, 0.12% African American, 24.71% Native American, 0.12% from other races, and 6.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 368 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the town, the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,266, and the median income for a family was $37,000. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $27,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,059. About 15.2% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Professional basketball coach John Whisenant was born and raised in Gore.

Actor Joshua Morrow of The Young and the Restless briefly attended school at Gore.

Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, once used to frequent Gore while married to his second wife Teresa Barrick, who is originally from the area.

Thomas Gore, for whom the town is named, is claimed to have been an atheist with a strong misanthropic streak - "a populist who didn't like people", as expressed by his grandson, author Gore Vidal.

The Attorney General for the State of Maine, G. Steven Rowe, is from Gore.[9]

Gore is the birthplace of 1969 Heisman Trophy Winner, Steve Owens, who was raised in Miami, Oklahoma. There is a sports complex in Gore named after him.

James Kidwell, triple murderrer serving triple life sentence for murder married couple and accidental witness of the murder of the married couple.[10] Kidwell met the female he murdered on the internet. The motive for the murder was disappointment with the meeting with a woman he met on the internet, more precisely her reluctance to engage in intercourse motivated by her menstrual period.

Notes

  1. ↑ After the Eastern Cherokee were relocated to Indian Territory and united with the Western Cherokees, Talequah became the Cherokee capital. Thereafter, Tahlonteskee became the courthouse of the Illinois District of the Cherokee Nation until 1846.[5]
  2. ↑ The product was shipped to another plant near Oklahoma City, where it was used to make fuel rods for nuclear reactors.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ Census Viewer: Population of the City of Gore, Oklahoma. Retrieved April 3, 2012
  4. ↑ Gore, Oklahoma Accessed March 18, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Larry O'Dell, "Gore". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Resume aside, Rowe focused on next job", Portland Press-Herald, May 13, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Gore Man Gets Three Life Sentences"
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