Comanche County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 124,098, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oklahoma. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Lawton. The county was created in 1901 as part of

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

. It was named for the Comanche tribal nation.Linda D. Wilson, "Comanche County." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed September 18, 2011, Comanche County is included in the Lawton, OK

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. Built on former reservation lands of the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

, and

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, Comanche County was open for settlement on August 16, 1901, by lottery. The region has three cities and seven towns as well as the Fort Sill military installation and

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. The refuge's l ...

. The landscape of the county is typical of the Great Plains with flat topography and gently rolling hills, while the areas in the north are marked by the

Wichita Mountains The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-south ...

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

and three major US Highways serve the county by ground, while the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport serves the county by air. Comanche County's economy is largely based in the government sector which consist of half of the county's

Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

. The governance of the county is led by a three commission board, which are elected in four year staggered terms. The county is served by several school districts and

Cameron University Cameron University is a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma. It offers more than 50 degrees through both undergraduate and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology, and graduate and professional ...

in education as well as three hospitals for health care.

History

The land that is present day Oklahoma was first settled by prehistoric American Indians including the Clovis 11500

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...

10600 BCE and Plainview 10000 BCE cultures. Western explorers came to the region in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado visiting in 1541. Most of the region during this time was settled by the Wichita and Caddo people. Around the 1700s, two tribes from the North, the Comanches and Kiowas, migrated to the Oklahoma and Texas region. For most of the 18th century, the Oklahoma region was under French control as

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. In 1803, the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

brought the area under United States control. In 1830, Congress passed the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

, which removed American Indian tribes and relocated them to

. The southern part of the territory was originally assigned to the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

and

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

until 1867 when the

Medicine Lodge Treaty The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the Federal government of the United States and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by re ...

allotted the southwest portion of the Choctaw and Chickasaw's lands to the

, and

tribes. Fort Sill was established in 1869 by Major General

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

who was leading a campaign in Indian Territory to stop raids into Texas by American Indian tribes.Fort SillGlobalsecurity.org
(accessed May 23, 2010). In 1874, the

Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains, and forcibly relocate the tribes to reservati ...

broke out in the region when the Comanche, Kiowa and Southern Cheyenne left their Indian Territory reservation. Attrition and skirmishes by the US Army finally forced the return of the tribes back to Indian Territory in June 1875. In 1891, the United States Congress appointed a commission to meet with the tribal leaders and come to an agreement allowing white settlement in the region. Years of controversy and legal maneuvering ensued before President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

issued a proclamation on July 4, 1901, that gave the federal government control over of surplus Indian land. Three sites in

, Caddo and Comanche Counties were selected for county seats with Lawton designated as the Comanche County seat. Non-Indian settlement was opened through an auction of lots beginning on August 6, 1901. In December 1906, the south regions of the county reserved for grazing land reserved for American Indian livestock,

Big Pasture The Big Pasture was of prairie land, in what is now southwestern Oklahoma. The land had been reserved for grazing use by the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes after their reserve was opened for settlement by a lottery conducted during June th ...

, were open for settlement. In 1910, the western portion of Comanche County and southern part of Kiowa County were used to create the short lived county of Swanson. After a lawsuit brought by Comanche County, Swanson County was dissolved by the Supreme Court on June 27, 1911. In 1912, the southern portion of Comanche County, which at the time extended to the Red River, were used to create the new county of Cotton County.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. Comanche County lies in an area that is typical of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

with

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, few trees, and generally flat topography with gently rolling hills. The north region of the county consists of the

including Mount Scott and Mount Pinchot the area's highest peaks. The area consists mostly of

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

Post Oak Conglomerate

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

on the northern sections of the county. In the south sections of the county, Permian

Garber Sandstone The Garber Sandstone is a geologic formation from the Permian Period in Oklahoma. It serves as an important aquifer, the Garber-Wellington Aquifer, in Logan, Oklahoma, and Cleveland counties of central Oklahoma. The upper portion of the Garber ...

is commonly found with some Hennessey Group shale. Area creeks including East Cache Creek and West Cache Creek contain deposits of

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

. To the northwest, the

consist primarily of Wichita Granite Group from the

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

Period. There are three cities in Comanche County. The largest, Lawton is located in the center of the county and is the county seat. According to the US census, the population of Lawton was 96,867 in 2010, which is 78 percent of the county's population.

Cache Cache, caching, or caché may refer to: Places United States * Cache, Idaho, an unincorporated community * Cache, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Cache, Oklahoma, a city in Comanche County * Cache, Utah, Cache County, Utah * Cache County ...

is located to the west of Lawton on US Highway 62 and has a population of 2,796. In the northeast, Elgin is located along

and has a population of 2,156. Several towns dot the county including:

Fletcher Fletcher may refer to: People * Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname * Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter * Fletcher (surname) * Fletcher (given name) Places United ...

, Sterling in the northeast, Medicine Park in the north central region, Indiahoma in the west, Geronimo in the southeast, and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

and Faxon in the southern regions of the county. Also located in Comanche County is Fort Sill. The 90,000 acre instillation is home to the US Army Field Artillery Training Center and the Air Defense Artillery. Protected areas in Comanche County include the 59,020 acre

. Established in 1901 the refuge is one of the 546 wildlife refuges throughout the United States to provide a natural habitat for native grazing animals like the Bison, Elk, and Texas longhorn cattle.

Adjacent counties

* Kiowa County (northwest) * Tillman County (southwest) * Cotton County (south) * Stephens County (southeast) * Grady County (northeast) * Caddo County (north)

Climate

Comanche County lies in a dry subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''), with frequent variations in weather daily, except during the constantly hot and dry summer months. Frequent strong winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help to lessen the hotter weather. Northerly winds during the winter can occasionally intensify cold periods. The average mean temperature for the southwest Oklahoma is . The summers can be extremely hot with an average 21 days with temperatures and above. The winter months are typically mild, though there can be periods of extreme cold. The area averages eight days per year that fail to rise above freezing. The region receives about of precipitation and less than of snow annually. Typically in late April through early June, Comanche County is prone to

severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmos ...

which can include tornadoes. Notably in 1957, an F4 tornado and again in 1979 an F3 tornado struck the southern region of Lawton.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 124,098 people, 44,982 households, and 30,303 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 116 people per square mile (45/km²). There were 50,739 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 17.5%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 5.9% Native American, 2.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.6%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.0% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 6.5% from two or more races. 11.2% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race (7.0% Mexican, 2.4% Puerto Rican, 0.3%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, 0.2%

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For m ...

). There were 44,982 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.1% 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 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.3 years. For every 100 females there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $43,817, and the median income for a family was $51,564. Males had a median income of $37,423 versus $31,913 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $21,048. About 14.3% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Law and government

Comanche County has a county commission comprising three members elected by

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Commissioners from each district serve four-year staggered terms in partisan elections. Boundaries are set once every 10 years following the federal

. The Board is responsible for inspecting and approving county programs and facilities, supervise the performance county officials, maintaining the county infrastructure, as well as overseeing the financial affairs of the county. In 2011, the commissioners were District 1 Gail Turner, District 2 Ron Kirby, and District 3 Don Hawthorne. In addition to the county commissioners, other elected county officials include:

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

, Assessor, County Clerk, and Court clerk. At the federal level, Lawton lies in Oklahoma 4th Congressional district, represented by

Tom Cole Thomas Jeffery Cole (born April 28, 1949) is the U.S. representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party and serves as Deputy Minority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) fr ...

. In the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, the county is represented by District 31 (Don Barrington) and 32 (Randy Bass). In the House, District 50 (Dennis Johnson), 62 (T.W. Shannon), 63 (Don Armes), 64 (Ann Coody), 65 (Joe Dorman) covers the county.

Economy

Comanche County's economy is primarily centered on government, manufacturing and retail trade industries. The Lawton MSA has a

of $4.89 Billion in 2010 with half (2.66 Billion) in the Government sector. Private industries accounted for 2.23 Billion in GDP in which Manufacturing (451 Million), Real estate and rental and leasing (305 Million), and Retail Trade (255 Million) were the largest fields. In May 2010, it was estimated there were 41,720 people employed. The largest occupation fields included, the Office and Administrative Support Occupations field which had 6,760 employed, the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations which employed 4,630, and the Sales and Related Occupations which had 4,150 employed.

Media

The Lawton Constitution The Lawton Constitution is a daily newspaper published in Lawton, Oklahoma. It began publishing in 1904. John Shepler bought the paper in 1910. It remained with successive generations of Shepler's family until his great-grandsons, Don and Stev ...

'' is the only daily newspaper published in the county and has a circulation of 30,000. In addition the Fort Sill newspaper, ''The Cannoneer'', is published weekly primarily for military personnel as well as the newspaper ''The Cameron Collegian'' whose main audience is Cameron University students. Additionally, ''Okie Magazine'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news and entertainment in the Southwest Oklahoma area. Fletcher News publishes online news of northeastern Comanche County, including Fletcher, Elgin and Sterling, at http://www.fletcher-news.com.html. Radio stations in Lawton include, two AM Stations

KXCA KXCA (1050 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary f ...

1050 and

KKRX KKRX (1380 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, approximately southw ...

1380 as well as several FM stations including,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

affiliate

KCCU KCCU (89.3 FM), is a National Public Radio member radio station in Lawton, Oklahoma, owned by Cameron University Cameron University is a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma. It offers more than 50 degrees through both undergraduate and grad ...

89.3,

KZCD KZCD (94.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Also known as Z94, it serves the Lawton, Oklahoma area. It is owned by Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an Ameri ...

94.1,

KMGZ KMGZ (95.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the pr ...

95.3,

KJMZ KJMZ (97.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format. The station is licensed to Cache, Oklahoma, and serves the Lawton area. KJMZ is owned by Mollman Media, Inc. Studios are located on Flower Mound Road in eastern Lawto ...

97.9, KBZQ 99.5,

KLAW Klaw or KLAW may refer to: *Klaw (surname) *Kawhi Leonard (born 1991), American basketball player nicknamed "the Klaw" *Klaw (Marvel Comics), a fictional villain * Klaw Theatre, a broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City *KLAW Klaw or KLAW may ...

101.3 and

KVRW KVRW (107.3 FM, "107.3 PopCrush") is a radio station broadcasting a top 40/CHR music format. Licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, the station serves the Lawton area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media and features progr ...

107.3 Comanche County is located in the

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

and Lawton Media Market which encompasses 154,450 households with a television, making it the 149th largest in the nation according to Nelson Media Research in 2009–2010.

KSWO-TV KSWO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Lawton, Oklahoma, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Gray Television, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) wi ...

channel 7, an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate, is the only broadcast television station in the area that provides local news. All other major stations including,

KFDX KFDX-TV (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the western Texoma area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KJBO-LD (chann ...

-TV 3 (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

KAUZ-TV KAUZ-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving the western Texoma area as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned by American Spirit Media, which maintains a shared services agree ...

(

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

), and

KJTL KJTL (channel 18) is a television station licensed to Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, serving as the Fox for the western Texoma area. It is owned by locally based Mission Broadcasting as its flagship station; Mission maintains joint sal ...

-TV (

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

) are based in Wichita Falls.

Transportation

Comanche County is primarily served by

, designated as the

H. E. Bailey Turnpike The H. E. Bailey Turnpike is an toll road in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The route, opened on April 23, 1964, is a four-lane limited access highway that connects Oklahoma City to Lawton in its northern section and ...

. It connects the county to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

to the northeast and to

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

to the south. The county is also connected by US Highway 62, which connects to the regional towns of

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music * Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type *Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US **Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Arka ...

to the west and Anadarko to the north. Other major thoroughfares include US Highway 277 and 281, which parallels the H. E. Bailey Turnpike to Wichita Falls to the south and leads to regional towns of Anadarko and

Chickasha Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connected ...

, respectively, to the north. Several State Highways cross the county including, State Highway 7 which connects Lawton to Duncan. State Highway 17 starts at US Highway 62 and connects the city of Elgin to the town of Sterling and leads to Rush Springs in Grady County. State Highway 36 connects the towns of Chattanooga to Faxon and has its eastern terminus at Interstate 44. State Highway 49 enters the county from Kiowa County and becomes unsigned through the Wichita Wildlife refuge heading east. Leaving the refuge it becomes signed and leads through Medicine Park to its eastern terminus at Interstate 44. State Highway 58 connects to Carnegie in Caddo County to State Highway 49 near Medicine Park. State Highway 115 leads from Mountain View in Kiowa County through Meers to the Wichita Mountain Refuge. There it becomes unsigned as it leads to the south. Exiting the refuge, it becomes signed and leads to its southern terminus north of Cache on US Highway 62. Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) provides public transit locally for Lawton and Fort Sill. LATS main terminal is located near the Lawton Public Library and provides five major routes throughout the city. By air, Comanche County is served by the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport (LAW, KLAW). At present, it offers daily American Eagle flights to

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...

and is also used for military transport.

Education and healthcare

The county has ten independent school districts. The largest is

Lawton Public Schools Lawton Public Schools is a public school district based in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States. The district serves most of the city of Lawton, a small portion of Medicine Park, and surrounding rural areas in central Comanche County. Secondary ...

which had 16,398 in 2009. The district operates two pre-kindergarten centers, twenty-six elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools –

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, Lawton, and MacArthur. Other major school districts in the area include

Cache Public Schools Cache Public Schools is a public school district located in Cache Cache, caching, or caché may refer to: Places United States * Cache, Idaho, an unincorporated community * Cache, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Cache, Oklahoma, a ci ...

and

Elgin Public Schools Elgin Public Schools is a school district in Elgin, Oklahoma. It includes Elgin, Lakeside Village, Oklahoma, Lakeside Village, Lawtonka Acres, Oklahoma, Lawtonka Acres, and portions of Edgewater Park, Oklahoma, Edgewater Park and Medicine Park, ...

. Cache Public Schools had an enrollment of 1,648 and consists of five schools. Elgin Public Schools had an enrollment of 16,98 and three schools. Other public school districts in the region include, Bishop Chattanooga, Fletcher, Flower Mound, Geronimo, Indiahoma, and Sterling. Comanche County includes several private schools. The largest is Lawton Christian School with an enrollment of 426 students in 2009. Lawton Academy of Arts & Science offers classes from PK-12 and had an enrollment of 115. St. Mary's Catholic School offers classes for elementary and middle school. Trinity Christian Academy offers classes from K-3 through the 8th grade. There is one university in Comanche County,

. Cameron is the largest four year, state-funded

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, in southwest Oklahoma, offering more than 50 degree programs in areas of Business, Education, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology. Founded in 1909, Cameron has an average fall enrollment of 6,000 students with 70 endowed faculty positions. Comanche County is also served by the

Great Plains Technology Center Technology Centers, in Oklahoma, are Career and Technical schools which provide career and technology education for high school students in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The students generally spend part of each day in their respective schools purs ...

, which is part of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education System. Great Plains provides occupational education, training, and development opportunities to area residents. Comanche County has three major hospitals in the area. The largest, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, is a 283-bed non-profit hospital that employs 250 physicians. Southwestern Medical Center is a 199-bed hospital with a staff of 150 physicians. In addition, the U.S. Public Health Lawton Indian Hospital is located in the city to provide health services for the large American Indian population. It has 26 beds with a staff of 23 physicians.

Communities

Cities

* Elgin * Lawton (county seat)

Towns

* Faxon *

* Geronimo * Indiahoma * Medicine Park * Sterling

Census-designated places

* Edgewater Park * Lake Ellsworth Addition * Lakeside Village * Lawtonka Acres

Other unincorporated communities

* Bethel * Meers * Pumpkin Center

Notable people

Notable residents include country singers:

Bryan White Bryan Shelton White (born February 17, 1974) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's '' Between Now ...

Kelly Willis Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadia ...

, and Leon Russell,

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig, and

Flaming Lips Flaming may refer to: * Anything set aflame or on fire * Flaming (Internet), the act of posting deliberately hostile messages on the Internet * Flame maple, the striped figures in maple woodwork prized for their beauty * Fläming, a region in ...

drummer

Steven Drozd Steven Gregory Drozd (born June 11, 1969) is an American musician and actor. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Flaming Lips, Electric Würms, and other projects. Early life Drozd was born in Houston, Texas, and gre ...

. Notable authors include

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning author

N. Scott Momaday Navarre Scott Momaday (born February 27, 1934) is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel ''House Made of Dawn'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native ...

, poet

Don Blanding Donald Benson Blanding (November 7, 1894—June 9, 1957) was an American poet, sometimes described as the "poet laureate of Hawaii." He was also a journalist, cartoonist, author and speaker. Early life Blanding was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma ...

, and Hugo Award winner,

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels '' Downbelo ...

. Politicians from Comanche County include: U.S. Senator

Thomas Gore Thomas Pryor Gore (December 10, 1870March 16, 1949) was an American politician who served as one of the first two United States senators from Oklahoma, from 1907 to 1921 and again from 1931 to 1937. He first entered politics as an activist for ...

, US Representatives:

Scott Ferris Scott Ferris (November 3, 1877 – June 8, 1945) was a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Early life Ferris was born in Neosho, Missouri to Scott and Annie M. Ferris.

L. M. Gensman Lorraine Michael Gensman (August 26, 1878 – May 27, 1954) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Biography Born on a farm near Wichita, Kansas, on August 26, 1878, Gensman was the son of Nicholas an ...

, Toby Morris, and

Elmer Thomas John William Elmer Thomas (September 8, 1876 – September 19, 1965) was a native of Indiana who moved to Oklahoma Territory in 1901, where he practiced law in Lawton. After statehood, he was elected to the first state senate, representing the L ...

. Other politicians include Democratic State Senator

Randy Bass Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in the Oklahoma Senate. Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, a ...

and former U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia

Julian Niemczyk Julian Martin Niemczyk (August 26, 1920 – September 16, 2009) was an American diplomat. Born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Niemczyk served in the U.S. Army and Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel. He studied at first at the University of Oklahom ...

. Other notable residents include: World War II

Code Talker

Charles Chibitty Charles Joyce Chibitty (November 20, 1921 – July 20, 2005) was a Native American and United States Army code talker in World War II, who helped transmit coded messages in the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ) language on the battlefield as a radio operat ...

, World War II Nurse and POW Col. Rosemary Hogan,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning actress

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

, World War II ace Robert S. Johnson, three time NBA champion Stacey King, former NBA All-Star

Michael Ray Richardson Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in ...

, Miss America 2007

Lauren Nelson Lauren Paige Nelson (born November 26, 1986) is a beauty queen from Lawton, Oklahoma who holds the Miss America 2007 title. Nelson is the second consecutive Miss America and sixth in the history of Miss America to hail from this state. Early l ...

, infamous University of Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, NFL Pro Bowlers

Will Shields Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earnin ...

and

Jammal Brown Jammal Filbert Brown (born March 30, 1981) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and received unanimous All- ...

Quanah Parker built his final residence in the town of Cache, Comanche County.

References

External links

Comanche County

City of Lawton

Fort Sill Military Reservation

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Comanche County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{Authority control 1901 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Populated places established in 1901