Delaware is a town in Nowata County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. Its population was 267 at the 2020 census, a decline of 35.9% from the 417 recorded in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

.MuniNet Guide: Delaware, Oklahoma
The town is named for the Eastern Delaware tribe that moved into this area from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

after signing a treaty with the Cherokee Nation in 1867.Cheatham, Gary L. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' "Delaware

History

In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railroad built a line through this area. It constructed a switch at the present townsite, which it named Comana Switch. A small community sprung up here, which soon became known as Delaware. The name became permanent when a post office was established by that name on March 19, 1898. Discovery of oil nearby in 1904 briefly turned Delaware into a boom town with 4000 residents, but the boom burst and the population quickly fell to 108 by November 1907. The population has fluctuated since then, though generally declining from an official high of 804 in 1920.

Geography

Delaware is on rolling prairie just west of the

Verdigris River The Verdigris River is a tributary of the Arkansas River in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma in the United States. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, 456 people, 171 households, and 129 families resided in the town. The population density was . The194 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 73.25% White, 21.93% Native American, 0.44% from other races, and 4.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latinos of any race were 0.66% of the population. Of the 171 households, 36.8% had children under 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were not families. About 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.05. In the town, the age distribution was 28.1% under 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,167, and for a family was $31,071. Males had a median income of $27,917 versus $18,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $11,099. About 9.7% of families and 18.5% 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 20.7% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Nowata County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma