Kiowa County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,446. Its

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 ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. The county was created in 1901 as part of

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 t ...

. It was named for the

Kiowa people Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

History

In 1892, the Jerome Commission began enrolling the Kiowas, Comanches and Apaches to prepare for the opening of their reservation to settlement by whites. Dennis Flynn, the territorial representative to the U. S. Congress, proposed holding a lottery for opening the reservation. He argued successfully that the lottery would be safer and more orderly than land runs used earlier. Individuals could register at offices in Lawton or El Reno. 165,000 individuals registered for 13,000 160-acre claims. The drawing was held August 6, 1901. After the opening, the area was designated as Kiowa County in Oklahoma Territory. The town of Hobart, named for Vice President Garrett A. Hobart, was designated as county seat.Cole, Burna
"Kiowa County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015. By 1908, residents of the southern part of the county were already agitating for a new county to be formed. In 1910, Governor

Charles N. Haskell Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and politician who was the first governor of Oklahoma. As a delegate to Oklahoma's constitutional convention in 1906, he played a crucial role in draftin ...

proclaimed that parts of Kiowa and Comanche Counties would become the new Swanson County. The new county became defunct in 1911, after the Oklahoma Supreme Court voided the change.

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 a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. The county is largely composed of flatlands, although the southern border is covered by the Washita Mountains. The

North Fork of the Red River The North Fork Red River, sometimes called simply the "North Fork", is a tributary of the Red River of the South about long, heading along the eastern Caprock Escarpment of the Llano Estacado about southwest of Pampa, Texas.United States Board on ...

serves as the southern and western boundaries of Jackson County. Water bodies include

Lake Altus-Lugert Lake Altus-Lugert, also known as Lake Altus, Lake Lugert, Lake Lugert-Altus, and Lugert Lake, is a reservoir located on the North Fork Red River, about 17 miles (27 km) north of Altus, Oklahoma on the former site of the town of Lugert, Okl ...

which impounds the North Fork of the Red River, and

Tom Steed Reservoir Created in 1975, Tom Steed Reservoir is a reservoir in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, northwest of the city of Snyder, Oklahoma. The reservoir area was created by damming West Otter Creek and diverting flows of Elk Creek through the Bretch Diversion Ca ...

on Otter Creek. Other streams in the county are the Washita River and Elk Creek.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 62 * U.S. Highway 183 * State Highway 9 * State Highway 19 * State Highway 44

Adjacent counties

Washita County Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,629. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891. Histor ...

(north) * Caddo County (east) * Comanche County (southeast) * Tillman County (south) * Jackson County (southwest) * Greer County (west)

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 10,227 people, 4,208 households, and 2,815 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 5,304 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.54%

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 ...

, 4.67%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 6.31% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.68% from other races, and 2.42% from two or more races. 6.74% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 4,208 households, out of which 27.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% 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 ...

living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 30.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.20% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,053, and the median income for a family was $34,654. Males had a median income of $25,552 versus $19,497 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 $14,231. About 15.00% of families and 19.30% 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 23.30% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Political Culture

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Snyder

Towns

* Cooperton * Gotebo * Lone Wolf * Mountain Park * Mountain View * Roosevelt

Unincorporated communities

* Babbs *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

* Lugert * Saddle Mountain

Notable people

* Tommy Franks (1945- ), U. S. Army general (retired) and Commander of U. S. Central Command during the Iraq War; lives in

Roosevelt, Oklahoma Roosevelt is a town in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 248 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.4 percent from 283 in 2000. The town was named for President Theodore Roosevelt. History According to the ''Encyclopedia of O ...

since his army retirement. *

Dale Meinert Dale Meinert (December 18, 1933 – May 10, 2004) was a professional American football player. He played ten seasons in the National Football League for the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals. Meinert was a three time pro bowler at middle linebacker. ...

(1933-2004), an All-Pro linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals, was born at Lone Wolf. *

N. Scott Momaday Navarre Scott Momaday (born February 27, 1934) is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel '' House Made of Dawn'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Nativ ...

(1934-), 1969 Pulitzer Prize winner for ''House Made of Dawn'', is from Mountain View. * Col. Jack Treadwell (1919-1977) of Snyder, who served in the 180th Infantry, Forty-fifth Infantry Division, during World War II, received the Congressional Medal of Honor. * Lt. Gen. La Vern E. Weber (1923-2004), born at Lone Wolf, served as chief of the National Guard Bureau.

References

{{authority control Oklahoma counties 1901 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Populated places established in 1901