Hardesty is a town in Texas County,

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 ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 212.

History

The original Hardesty was four miles northeast of the present community. It had a post office in 1887, with the name honoring A.J. “Jack” Hardesty, who had interests in the area. However, the

Rock Island railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly k ...

bypassed the town in 1901 and created the locale that became

Guymon, Oklahoma Guymon ( ) is a city and county seat of Texas County, in the panhandle of Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,965, an increase of 13.3% from 11,442 in 2010, and represents more than half of the population o ...

. Most of Hardesty’s residents and businesses relocated to Guymon, and the original town withered. When a second Rock Island line later came through the county near the old Hardesty in 1929, a new community along the route was named Hardesty at the insistence of locals. However, growth of the new Hardesty was stunted by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and 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) an ...

. The town nevertheless incorporated in 1947 and remains in place, complete with a post office and a school district covering 250 square miles.

Geography

Hardesty is just south of the Coldwater Creek arm of the

Optima Lake Optima Lake was built to be a reservoir in Texas County, Oklahoma. The site is just north of Hardesty and east of Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The earthen Optima Lake Dam (National ID # OK20510) was completed in by the United States Arm ...

project, including

Optima National Wildlife Refuge Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grasslands and wooded bottomland on the Coldwater Creek arm of the Optima Lake project. The 8,062-acre Optima Wildlife Management Area, an Okla ...

, and the Optima Wildlife Management Area public hunting lands managed 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 town is approximately 18 miles southeast of Guymon along

Oklahoma State Highway 3 State Highway 3, also abbreviated as SH-3 or OK-3, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Traveling diagonally through Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the far southeastern corner of the state, SH-3 is the longest state highway in ...

, which runs concurrently with U.S. Route 412 through Hardesty.

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 277 people, 102 households, and 74 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 118 housing units at an average density of 523.1 per square mile (198.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 76.17%

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 ...

, 1.44% Native American, 20.58% 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 1.81% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 27.80% of the population. There were 102 households, out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% 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, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 34.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,214, and the median income for a family was $29,688. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $20,089 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 town was $11,836. About 24.2% of families and 22.5% 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 t ...

, including 24.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 20.0% of those 65 or over.

Education

In 2007, a lawsuit was brought against the local high school for religious discrimination and failure to separate church and state, after a student allegedly was kicked off the basketball team for refusing to participate in compulsory pre and post game prayers. PACER shows the federal case, CIV-06-845-M, ended with that Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice filed October 29, 2008 and signed by all parties.

References

External links