Dustin is a town in Hughes 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. The population was 327 at the time of the 2020 United States census.

History

The town was called Watsonville when its community first formed in the late 19th century. When the post office opened there on April 18, 1898, it was officially named Watsonville. The original site was south of 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 Nor ...

in the area then known as the Creek Nation in Indian Territory.Fran Cook and Spencer P. Petete.
Dustin
" ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed July 2, 2019. The post office site was moved north of the present site, and its name changed to Spokogee, on June 27, 1902, though the same person, Marion J. Butler, remained as postmaster. After the Fort Smith and Western Railroad built its Fort Smith–Guthrie line through the area in 1903, the town and post office were both officially changed to Dustin on May 9, 1904. The Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (MO&G), built a north–south line through Dustin in 1905. Dustin became a trading and commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area. Early businesses included two banks, two drug stores, three doctors, and two hardware stores. Although a school was among the first buildings constructed, it burned down before the school year began. It was soon replaced and two male teachers were hired. The MO&G maintained a railroad round house for working on its locomotives. Before the end of the first decade, Dustin had added four barbershops, a third barbershop, a third drug store, a fourth doctor, a third bank, a livery stable, two hotels, two cotton gins, an ice plant/bottling plant, and a wagon factory. Several newspapers, including the ''Dustin Dispatch'', the ''Dustin News'', and the ''Dustonian'', informed the citizens in the early decades of the twentieth century. Dustin built its first water supply system in 1912. In the 1930s, the community built Lake Dustin, a community-owned spring-fed reservoir. In 2012, Dustin began constructing a new municipal water supply system in 2003. The 1910 census reported that Dustin had a population of 579, which increased to an all-time high of 713 in 1920.

Geography

Dustin is located in northeastern Hughes County. Oklahoma State Highway 9 passes through the center of town, leading east to the

Indian Nation Turnpike The Indian Nation Turnpike, also designated State Highway 375 (SH-375), is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road in southeastern Oklahoma, United States, running between Hugo, Oklahoma, Hugo and Henryetta, Oklahoma, Henryetta ...

and west to Wetumka. Oklahoma State Highway 84 departs OK-9 in the center of Dustin, leading north and west to Weleetka. Fish Creek flows through the southeast corner of the town, running northeast to the

. 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 ...

, Dustin has a total area of , of which , or 1.12%, are water.

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, there were 452 people, 164 households, and 120 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 53.76%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.44%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 34.29% Native American, 0.22%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.44% from other races, and 10.84% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population. There were 164 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were

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

living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. A total of 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.34. The population distribution for the town was 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age of the residents was 38 years old. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,625, and the median income for a family was $24,375. Males had a median income of $24,167 versus $19,063 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 $8,767. About 28.3% of the families and 35.9% 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 38.9% of those under age 18 and 34.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Graham-Dustin Public Schools school district.

Notable persons

* Phyllis Fife, Sharon Fife Mouss, Sandy Fife Wilson and

Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart Jimmie Carole Fife Stewart (born 1940) is a Muscogee (Creek) art educator, fashion designer, and artist. After graduating from the Chilocco Indian School and taking courses at the University of Arizona, she earned a degree from Oklahoma Stat ...

, teachers and artists, were born near Dustin.

Notes

Dustin is not a Native American word. Spokogee, Es•po•ko•ke Old name for the Tukahahchee (Tribe) hought to be a loan word from Shawnee">Shawnee.html" ;"title="hought to be a loan word from Shawnee">hought to be a loan word from Shawneeref>

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Dustin
{{authority control Towns in Hughes County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma