Carter 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 ...

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: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,557. 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 ...

is Ardmore. The county was named for Captain Ben W. Carter, a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

who lived among the Chickasaw.O'Dell, Larry
"Carter County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Accessed March 28, 2015. Carter County is part of the Ardmore Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also a part of the Texoma region.

History

Prior to statehood, the present Carter County, Oklahoma, was part of Pickens County in the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, original ...

of the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

. After the Civil War, the government of the United States forced the Chickasaw government to allow railroads built across its territory. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (controlled by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

, AT&SF) built a line north from Texas to Purcell. In 1901-1903 the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (acquired by the

St. Louis and San Francisco Railway ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in 1907) built a line from Arkansas to Ardmore. Oil production spurred further railroad development. In 1913–14, the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway constructed a line from Ardmore west to Ringling. In 1916, the Ringling and Oil Fields Railway laid tracks north from Ringling Junction to Healdton. These last two rail lines were abandoned in 1976. Oil and gas production began very early in the 20th century. The Healdton field opened in 1913, and led to the development of Ardmore as a major oil production center. However, a disastrous fire occurred in Ardmore in 1915, when a railroad car exploded, killing 43 people and destroying much of the downtown. Ardmore and the local oil industry recovered, and the city also became a manufacturing center. Akron Tire and Rubber Company built and operated a plant in Ardmore as early as 1915. In 1970, Uniroyal built a tire plant there. It was acquired by Michelin North America in 1990. By the start of the 21st century, manufacturing was the largest component of the county economy.

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 (1.4%) is water. The county contains parts of several physiographic regions, including the

Arbuckle Mountains The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray, Carter, Pontotoc, and Johnston counties.

, the Coastal Plains, the

Red Bed Red beds (or redbeds) are sedimentary rocks, typically consisting of sandstone, siltstone, and shale, that are predominantly red in color due to the presence of ferric oxides. Frequently, these red-colored sedimentary strata locally contain t ...

plains and the

Cross Timbers The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairi ...

. The northern part of the county drains to the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

, while several creeks drain the southern part directly to the Red River.

Geology

The Healdton Field, encompassing Healdton and located in the western portion of Carter County, produces from the Pennsylvanian Healdton sands of the Hoxbar Group and the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

massive carbonate Arbuckle Group. The field is located on the "Healdton uplift", a northwest–southeast trending

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is t ...

, which formed with the Wichita Orogeny, and is 8 miles long and up to 3 miles wide. This was followed by deposition of the Healdton

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

s and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

s on pre-Pennsylvanian eroded rocks and subsequent folding during the Arbuckle Orogeny.Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, pp. 255-256 A prospector named Palmer drilled a shallow well, 425 feet, near an oil seep in the 1890s but Federal Law prohibited oil development on "Indian lands" until the early 1900s.Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 256 Therefore, the discovery of the field is credited to the drilling of No. 1 Wirt Franklin in 1913.

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican borde ...

* U.S. Highway 70 * U.S. Highway 70A * U.S. Highway 77 * U.S. Highway 177 * State Highway 7 *

State Highway 53 The following highways are numbered 53: Cambodia * National Road 53 (Cambodia) Canada * Alberta Highway 53 India * National Highway 53 (India) Ireland * N53 road (Ireland) Italy * Autostrada A53 (Italy), Autostrada A53 Japan * Japan Natio ...

* State Highway 74 * State Highway 76 * State Highway 77S * State Highway 142 * State Highway 199

Adjacent counties

* Garvin County (north) * Murray County (northeast) * Johnston County (east) * Marshall County (southeast) * Love County (south) * Jefferson County (southwest) * Stephens County (northwest)

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 45,621 people, 17,992 households, and 12,648 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 20,577 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.4%

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 ...

, 7.60%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 7.92% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 1.13% from other races, and 4.45% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 17,992 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% 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 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,405, and the median income for a family was $36,729. Males had a median income of $30,018 versus $20,877 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 $15,511. About 12.70% of families and 16.60% 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 ...

, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 12.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

Cities

* Ardmore (county seat) * Healdton * Lone Grove *

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

Towns

* Dickson *

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

* Ratliff City *

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

* Tatums

Unincorporated communities

* Alpers *

Baum Baum is a German surname meaning "tree" (not to be confused with the French surname Baume). Notable people with this surname include: * Bernie Baum (1929–1993), American songwriter * Carol Baum, American film producer * Christina Baum (b ...

* Brock * Caldwell Hill *

Cheek The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the insi ...

* Clemscott * Countyline * Dillard * Dripping Springs *

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

* Durwood * Fox * Glenn *

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

* Hewitt * Milo * Newport * Oil City * Old Scott * Pooleville * Post Oak *

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

* Pruitt City * Reck * Rexroat * Tussy * Wirt * Woodford * Zaneis

References

External links

Healdton: Oklahoma's First State-Regulated Oil Field

Carter County Government webpage

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Carter County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907 Ardmore, Oklahoma micropolitan area