Cimarron County is the westernmost

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 ...

of 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 Boise City. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the least-populous county in Oklahoma; and indeed, throughout most of its history, it has had both the smallest population and the lowest population density of any county in Oklahoma. Located in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Cimarron County contains the only community in the state ( Kenton) that observes the

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...

. Black Mesa, the highest point in the state, is in the northwest corner of the county. The Cimarron County community of Regnier has the distinction of being the driest spot in Oklahoma ranked by lowest annual average precipitation, at just 15.62 inches; but at the same time, Boise City is the snowiest location in Oklahoma ranked by highest annual average snowfall, at 31.6 inches.

History

Cimarron County was created at statehood in 1907. Before the Oklahoma Organic Act was passed in 1890, the area had belonged to what was known as "No-Man's Land", also referred to as the "Public Land Strip". This was a relatively lawless area, with no organized government, and several outlaws sought refuge within its borders. In 1890, the strip became known as Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory. Informally, it was known as the "Oklahoma Panhandle". Only two communities were in the strip. One, Carrizo (near present-day Kenton), had 83 residents in 1890, while the other, Mineral City, had 93 residents. Otherwise, the land was used primarily by sheepherders from New Mexico.Young, Norma Gene
"Cimarron County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Accessed March 28, 2015. Several communities vied to become county seat after statehood: Boise City, Cimarron, Doby, Hurley, Willowbar, and Centerview. A county election in 1908 selected Boise City. Railroads came late to this part of Oklahoma. The Elkhart and Santa Fe Railway built a line from

Elkhart, Kansas Elkhart is a city in and the county seat of Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,888. The south edge of the city is the Kansas-Oklahoma state border, and the city is from the Kansas-Co ...

, through Cimarron County in 1925. It completed the link into New Mexico in 1932. Service ended in 1942. The same company built a line from Colorado to Boise City in 1931 and extended it into Texas in 1937. This line still operates and in 2000 was part of the

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

system. Cimarron County was affected by the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...

and was the site of the iconic 1936 photo entitled Dust Bowl Cimarron County, Oklahoma.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.3%) are covered by water. It is the fourth-largest county in Oklahoma by area. It also has Oklahoma's highest point at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

on the Black Mesa. The northern part of the county is drained by the Cimarron River, which flows eastward, then turns north into

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. The southern part is drained by the Beaver River (sometimes also called the

North Canadian River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering North ...

). The man-made Lake Carl Etling lies inside Black Mesa Park. The

Boise City Airport Boise City Airport is in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, four miles north of the City of Boise City, which owns it. History The airport was activated in August of 1946. The 1927 trans-Atlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh led to development of mu ...

(FAA ID: 17K) is about 3 miles north of town.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 56 * US 64

U.S. Highway 64 * US 287

U.S. Highway 287 * US 385

U.S. Highway 385 * US 412

U.S. Highway 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

State Highway 3 * Oklahoma State Highway 171

State Highway 171 * Oklahoma State Highway 325

State Highway 325

Adjacent states and counties

Cimarron County is the only county in the United States that borders four states:

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As a result, Cimarron County is the only county in the United States to border at least five counties from five different states (one from each of the four aforementioned states, plus one in Oklahoma and a second county in Texas). *

Baca County, Colorado Baca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,506. The county seat is Springfield. Located at the southeast corner of Colorado, the county shares state borders with Kansas, New Mexi ...

(north/Mountain Time border) * Morton County, Kansas (northeast) * Texas County (east) * Dallam County, Texas (south) * Sherman County, Texas (southeast) * Union County, New Mexico (west/Mountain Time border) A location east of US 287-385 and south of the Cimarron River is the only place in the US less than from five different states: from Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas and from Colorado.

National protected area

Rita Blanca National Grassland Rita Blanca National Grassland is a National Grassland on the Great Plains near the community of Texline in northwest Dallam County, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle, and in southern Cimarron County, Oklahoma, in the western Oklahoma Panhandle ...

(part)

Images

File:Black Mesa, Oklahoma high point.jpg, Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma, is in the northwestern corner of Cimarron County. File:Highway 412 In The Oklahoma Panhandle.JPG, U.S. Route 412 in Cimarron County. File:Farmer walking in dust storm Cimarron County Oklahoma2.jpg, Farmer and two sons during a

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...

in Cimarron County, April 1936 File:Map of states and counties affected by the Dust Bowl, sourced from US federal government dept. (NRCS SSRA-RAD).svg, Area affected by the

between 1935 and 1938. File:OKPanhand8-08.jpg,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

satellite image of Cimarron County, August 2008.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, 2,475 people, 1,047 households, and 705 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). The 1,587 housing units averaged 1 per square mile (0/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 84.7% White, 0.2% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 12.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 20.8% (16.4% Mexican, 1.4%

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%

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvad ...

). Of the 1,257 households, 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were married couples living together, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were not families. About 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% 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 3.07. In the county, the age distribution was 27.60% under 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,625, and for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $24,327 versus $18,110 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 $15,744. About 13.90% of families and 17.60% 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 t ...

, including 22.20% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Cimarron County is a solidly Republican county in presidential elections. It cast 92% of its votes for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in the 2020 election, the highest percentage of any Oklahoma county. The last Democrat to carry the county was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

in 1976. A section of U.S. Route 287 in Oklahoma within the county was renamed President Donald Trump Highway after Trump left office. The Oklahoman newspaper reported in December 2021: "After altering rules and overcoming opposition to pass the state's highway naming bill in May, Oklahoma GOP legislators have yet to provide promised funding for signage along a 20-mile stretch of Panhandle highway designated 'President Donald J. Trump Highway.'" Gore, Hogan. "Roadwork ahead: Signage for Trump highway in Oklahoma remains unfunded" https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/12/15/donald-j-trump-highway-oklahoma-road-signs-transportation-department-funding/6463485001/

Economy

The county economy has been largely based on cattle ranching and agriculture throughout its history. Wheat and grain sorghum are the most important crops. The

devastated the county during the 1930s, and the deluges of 1942-1945 destroyed what was left; the economy had to be completely rebuilt. Oil and natural gas production became important in the 1960s, and a gas plant near Keyes began producing

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

in 1959. In 2000, Cimarron County had the ninth-highest per capita income of all Oklahoma counties.

Communities

City

* Boise City (county seat)

Towns

* Kenton * Keyes

Census-designated places

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

Other unincorporated places

* Griggs * Sturgis * Wheeless * Regnier

References

External links

NASA Earth Observatory article about Cimarron County

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cimarron County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

Cimarron County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907 Oklahoma Panhandle