Holdenville is a city in and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of 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 5,934 at the time of the 2020 United States census.

History

Holdenville traces its origin to a Creek settlement called ''echo'', when translated means "deer". George B. Fentress operated a general store there. A post office called "Fentress" opened there on May 24, 1895. The

Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), known informally as the "Choctaw Route," was an American railroad in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Origins The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed it ...

was constructed in the 1890s from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. Between 1895 and 1897, the construction passed through the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a List of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large grou ...

. During this period, a railroad camp was set up to service the railroad construction.Crawford, B., et al. (1998). ''Holdenville - 100 Years and Counting''. Marceline, MO: D-Books Publishing, Inc. The railroad workers called the camp "Holden" in honor of J.F. Holden, the Auditor and Traffic Manager of Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railroad. In 1895, a request was delivered to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

to establish a post office in Holden. The request was rejected because the name was too similar to another post office called "Holder." The proposed name was then altered to "Holdenville" and was accepted. In 1898, settlers petitioned

to incorporate Holdenville as a town. A hearing was granted and on November 14, 1898, Holdenville was incorporated as part of Indian Territory. D. J. Red was elected mayor at the first municipal election, held December 27, 1898. The first city council meeting was held January 4, 1899.Wilson, Linda D. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Holdenville."
Retrieved October 20, 2013. The St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) constructed a line between 1900 and 1901 from Sapulpa to the Red River that passed through Holdenville. An election was held on June 27, 1908, to determine the permanent county seat. Contending communities were Holdenville, Wetumka, Calvin, and Lamar. None of the candidates won a majority, so a runoff election was held on September 10, 1908, between the two top vote-getters, Holdenville and Wetumka. This time, Holdenville won the election. Until it was named in a grand jury investigation in 1904, Holdenville was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

where African Americans were not allowed to live or even wait for a train. On April 27, 2024, an EF3 tornado struck the town as part of a larger tornado outbreak that affected the Great Plains region, causing two fatalities and extensive damage.

Geography

Holdenville is located about from Oklahoma City. Holdenville sits approximately five miles north of the ''Holdenville City Lake'', eight miles north of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. The area is mostly wooded and flanked by gently rolling hills, interrupted occasionally by small creeks and streams. 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 city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

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 4,732 people, 1,966 households, and 1,236 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,302 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.06%

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 ...

, 3.44%

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 ...

, 14.48% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.99% from other races, and 5.75% 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 2.45% of the population. There were 1,966 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% 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, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,282, and the median income for a family was $27,175. Males had a median income of $21,020 versus $17,951 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 city was $13,326. About 14.8% of families and 20.2% 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 21.2% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Historically, the Holdenville area economy has been based on agriculture. The main crops have been cotton, peanuts, pecans, corn, hay, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes and orchard fruits. Other types of business have supplemented the economy. Covey Corporation manufactured plastic products and employed approximately one hundred fifty workers. Other enterprises included Seamprufe Corporation, a manufacturer of lingerie, and F. B. Fly Company, a producer of fishing tackle. Aquafarms, a catfish processing plant, and the Holdenville State Fish Hatchery also provided employment. In the 1990s Tyson Foods' hog breeding operation and the Earl A. Davis Community Work Center created jobs. It is home to The Pork Group, a subsidiary of

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

; the Holdenville State Fish Hatchery, one of four operated by the

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Co ...

; the Davis Correctional Facility, a 1,600 bed

medium security A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

prison operated by the

Corrections Corporation of America CoreCivic, Inc. formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas W. ...

; and the Creek Nation Casino, one of many operated by the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

Recreation

Since May 1934 nearby Holdenville Lake has offered outdoor recreational activities.

Fall Festival

Holdenville celebrates the annual Fall Festival on the first Saturday in October. The Festival includes a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

, classic

car show An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...

, and an open-air market fair with dozens of booths and vendors. The Fall Festival was originally called Hog Wild Day to celebrate Tyson's contribution to Holdenville's economy, and featured a hog-calling contest, a pigtail contest, a pig-out pie-eating contest, and a greased pig contest.

Stroup Park

Stroup Park is the primary recreation area in Holdenville. It contains a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

baseball diamond A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

, public swimming pool,

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...

, two

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s, disc golf course, and numerous picnic tables. There is also a one-mile

walking path A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Howe ...

duck pond A duck pond or duckpond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for waterfowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Often, as in public parks, such ponds are artificial and ornamental in desig ...

, and a smaller adjacent park called ''Rose Park'' which mainly consists of

flower garden A flower garden or floral garden is any garden or part of a garden where plants that flower are grown and displayed. This normally refers mostly to herbaceous plants, rather than flowering woody plants, which dominate in the shrubbery and w ...

Holdenville City Lake

Holdenville City Lake, in addition to providing 80% of the drinking water in Hughes County, is the area's main source of aquatic and woodland recreation. The lake is surrounded by

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

s, some of which are equipped with RV hook-ups. There is also a public bath house with restrooms and showers. The lake has two

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

s, one is covered and reserved for fishing, the other is open-air and used for boat docking.

Boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

and

jet ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

s are allowed on the lake, but only in certain areas. Tubing, knee-boarding and

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

are allowed depending on the water level. There are also numerous ATV trails in the vicinity.

Education

All of the city limits is in the Holdenville Public Schools school district, which provides

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary education. Some areas outside of the city limits are in

Moss Public Schools Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornw ...

Infrastructure

Highways

U.S. Route 270 * Oklahoma State Highway 48

State Highway 48

Airports

The Holdenville Municipal Airport is about 1 mile northwest of the town. It has existed since 1943, and Central Airlines made it a regularly-scheduled stop in the 1950s. Commercial air service is available out of

Will Rogers World Airport OKC Will Rogers International Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is a passenger airport located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the city's downtown Oklahoma Cit ...

, about 81 miles west-northwest.

Railroads

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

Notable people

* Daren Brown,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

manager *

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher and pitching coach (uncle of Daren Brown) * Zora Kramer Brown, breast cancer awareness advocate * Dave Cox, California State Senator * "Dizzy" Dean,

pitcher *

Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...

, actor *

Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin, , ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American filmmaker from Oklahoma. He is ...

, filmmaker * Jack Jacobs,

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

quarterback * Constance N. Johnson, Oklahoma State Senator *

Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993), known professionally as Richard Jordan, was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films ...

, NFL player * Velma Middleton,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer *

T. Boone Pickens Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. (May 22, 1928 – September 11, 2019) was an American business magnate and financier. Pickens chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980 ...

, billionaire oil and gas businessman * Dave Redding,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

assistant coach *

Bjo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom ...

Science fiction fan Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

and writer

References

External links

*
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Holdenville
{{Authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Hughes County, Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Sundown towns in Oklahoma Muscogee (Creek) Nation