Harmon County is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the southwest corner of 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 sover ...
of
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 2,922,
making it the second-least populous county in Oklahoma, behind only
Cimarron County
Cimarron County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City, Oklahoma, Boise City. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the leas ...
. It has lost population in every census since
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
. The
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
Hollis.
History
Following an election on May 22, 1909, Harmon County was created by proclamation of
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Lee Cruce
Lee Cruce (July 8, 1863 – January 16, 1933) was an American lawyer, banker and the second governor of Oklahoma. Losing to Charles N. Haskell in the 1907 Democratic primary election to serve as the first governor of Oklahoma, Cruce successful ...
on June 2. Carved from adjacent
Greer County, the new county was named in honor of
Judson Harmon
Judson Harmon (February 3, 1846February 22, 1927) was an American United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as United States Attorney General under President Grover Cleveland and later served as the 45th governor ...
, who was Governor of Ohio at the time. The area now covered by Harmon County had been a part of Texas until the U. S. Supreme Court awarded it to
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 ...
in 1896.
[Wilson, Linda D]
"Harmon County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.
Another election held September 1, 1909, confirmed Hollis as the county seat. There were two other contestants: the towns of Harmon and Rosser. County offices operated in rented space until a courthouse was built in Hollis in 1926. In 1930, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma was actually farther east than originally believed. It returned the disputed land to Texas, reducing the county's area to its present size.
A railroad built from Altus, Oklahoma to the Texas state line came to Hollis and Gould in 1910. The line was built by the Altus, Wichita Falls and Hollis Railway (later acquired by the
Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad).
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 an area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.
It lies in the
Gypsum Hills physiographic region, and is drained by the
Red River and its tributaries, the Salt and Elm forks of the Red River and Lebos and Turkey creeks.
Major highways
*
U.S. Highway 62
U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canada–United States border, Canadian border. It is the only east-west ...
*
State Highway 5
*
State Highway 9
*
State Highway 30
Adjacent counties
*
Beckham County (north)
*
Greer County (northeast)
*
Jackson County (southeast)
*
Hardeman County, Texas
Hardeman County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,549. The county seat and largest city is Quanah. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1884. It is named for two br ...
(south)
*
Childress County, Texas (west)
*
Collingsworth County, Texas
Collingsworth County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,652. Its county seat is Wellington. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. It is named for James Collinsworth, a signer ...
(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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 3,283 people, 1,266 households, and 863 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 six persons per square mile (2 km
2). There were 1,647 housing units at an average density of three per square mile (1/km
2). The racial makeup of the county was 72.65%
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 on ...
, 9.78%
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 have o ...
or
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 ...
, 1.13%
Native American, 0.18%
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 ...
, 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...
, 14.32% 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 1.92% from two or more races. The population was 22.78% Hispanic or Latino.
There were 1,266 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% 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 t ...
living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.50% 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 3.03.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.90% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 21.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $22,365, and the median income for a family was $29,063. Males had a median income of $21,530 versus $16,658 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 $13,464. About 23.50% of families and 29.70% 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 38.20% of those under age 18 and 19.90% of those age 65 or over.
Population decline
Common to many rural counties in 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 ...
the population of Harmon county has declined steadily since 1930. Between 1930 and 2020, Harmon County lost a greater percentage of its population than any other Oklahoma county, from 13,834 in 1930 to 2,488 in 2020, a decrease of 82.1%.
["Oklahoma: Population of Counties by Dicennial Census," https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ok190090.txt, accessed May 11, 2018]
Politics
Economy
Agriculture has been the main component of the county economy. Cotton, wheat and sorghum have been the principal crops. By 1930, farmers had sizable holdings of cattle, poultry, horses, mules, swine, sheep and goats.
Communities
*
Arnett
*
Gould
Gould may refer to:
People
* Gould (name), a surname
Places United States
* Gould, Arkansas, a city
* Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Gould, Oklahoma, a town
* Gould, West Virginia, a ...
*
Hollis (county seat)
*
McQueen
*
Vinson
VINSON is a family of voice encryption devices used by U.S. and allied military and law enforcement, based on the NSA's classified Suite A SAVILLE encryption algorithm and 16 kbit/s CVSD audio compression. It replaces the Vietnam War-era N ...
See also
*
References
External links
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Harmon CountyOklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control
1909 establishments in Oklahoma
Populated places established in 1909