Sayre is a small city in, and 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 ...
of,
Beckham County, in western
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.
It is halfway between
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, and
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
, on
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
and the former
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
. The population was 4,375 at the
2010 census, the largest recorded by a census since Sayre's founding.
The total was an increase of 6.3 percent from the 2000 census.
History
After the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
wanted to stimulate the economy and aid the growth of the nation. One way that they achieved this was to promote the building of the western railroads. Upon completion of the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
-
Central Pacific joining together in 1869 with the
Golden Spike
The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...
, other railroads trying to capitalize on commerce and trade also began crossing the western country. This included the
Great Northern Great Northern may refer to:
Transport
* One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation).
* Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway.
* Great ...
and
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
in the far north, and the
Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
on the extreme southern border.
Eventually this would lead to rails crossing
Indian Territory
The 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 St ...
, present-day Oklahoma, around the start of the 20th century. A new rail line was extended from
Weatherford to
Texola by McCabe & Steen Contractors in July 1901.
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
s would buy land near where the new tracks were being laid, and also near a source of water. The Choctaw Town Site and Improvement Company did this, and when 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. The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed its main li ...
crossed the North Fork of the
Red River in Western Indian Territory an instant town sprang up, which incorporated on 14 September 1901.
The Choctaw Townsite & Improvement Company began selling lots to new "
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaign, ...
" arriving to start a new life. The seeds of a new town were on, businessmen came to sell their wares to the new town folk, and within one year the town's population was up to around 1,000.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
n
Robert Heysham Sayre, a stockholder of the railroad, gave his name to the newly formed town in 1901.
[Linda D. Wilson, "Sayre," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''](_blank)
Accessed April 15, 2015.
The
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company (called CRI&P), later just the "Rock Island", leased the new line. The Rock Island Line would complete its march to the Pacific by filling in the line to
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay Count ...
.
During the period of 1901–1907, Sayre was part of Roger Mills County in
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 ...
. At the time Oklahoma became a state, Beckham County was created and Sayre, which was within the boundary of Beckham County, was named as the temporary county seat. An election in 1908 confirmed Sayre as the permanent seat, with voters preferring it to the town of
Erick. The Beckham County Courthouse was completed in 1911, and is still in service over a century later. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The discovery of oil and gas nearby caused the population to boom between 1920 and 1930. In the 1930s
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
, a dream forwarded by fellow Oklahoman
Cyrus Avery
Cyrus Stevens Avery (1871–1963) was a businessperson, oilman, and highway commissioner. He created the U.S. Route 66 while being a member of the federal board appointed to create the Federal Highway System, then pushed for the establishment of ...
, would come to Sayre, cementing the town's fate to fuel the cars and feed the people exploring the country.
In 1940 film director
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
used Sayre's Beckham County Courthouse in the film ''
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'', based on the famous book by
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
.
During the 1970s Sayre and the surrounding area benefited from the
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
development in the
Panhandle-Hugoton field, the largest-volume gas field in the United States, and the world's largest known source of
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
. Between 1973 and 1993 the field produced over 8 trillion cubic feet (230,000,000 m³) of gas.
Geography
Sayre is located at (35.298940, -99.636556).
It is located on the North Fork of the
Red River, at an elevation of and west of Oklahoma City.
The area is dominated by low rolling red clay hills.
According to the
United States 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 city has a total area of , of which , or 0.36%, is water.
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 4,114 people, 1,132 households, and 678 families residing in the city. 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 1,215.9 people per square mile (469.9/km). There were 1,399 housing units at an average density of 413.5 per square mile (159.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 74.99%
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 ...
, 18.25%
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 ...
, 2.53%
Native American, 0.41%
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 ...
, 1.92% 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 1.90% 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 ...
or
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 5.35% of the population.
There were 1,132 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% 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, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 14.6% under the age of 18, 14.0% from 18 to 24, 40.9% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 197.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 216.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,713, and the median income for a family was $30,000. Males had a median income of $22,167 versus $18,147 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 city was $10,378. About 15.9% of families and 20.7% 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 26.1% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Sayre's economy has been based on agriculture and the production of oil and gas. By the 1930s, the town had five oil companies and one gasoline plant in operation. United Carbon Company built a
carbon black
Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid ...
plant there.
Circa 2000 the
Flying J truck stop opened on a plot of land along
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
in Sayre; it paid $150,000 in annual sales taxes and had 117 employees. The city government had purchased the land and sold it to the developer at cost in order to attract the development.
[Kilborn, Peter T.]
Rural Towns Turn to Prisons To Reignite Their Economies
" ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. August 1, 2001. Retrieved on April 11, 2016.
The
North Fork Correctional Facility
North Fork Correctional Center is a medium to maximum security correctional facility for men located east of Sayre, Beckham County, Oklahoma.
From its opening in 1998 through 2015, the prison was owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of ...
, a privately owned, medium-security prison opened in 1998.
This prison had 270 employees as of 2001, and that year Peter T. Kilborn of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the prison "is responsible for lifting Sayre's spirits and reigniting its economy."
[ Circa 2003 the community experienced economic issues when prisoners from Wisconsin were recalled from the prison.
]
Education
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members.
History
SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Ter ...
at Sayre or SWOSU@Sayre, is an accredited junior college serving western Oklahoma. It was founded in 1938 as Sayre Junior College and merged with SWOSU by an act of the Oklahoma Legislature in 1987.
Western Technology Center
The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE, commonly known and branded as CareerTech) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
CareerTech oversees a statewide system of career and technology e ...
, Sayre campus provides the opportunity for adults and high school students to get occupationally-specific training. Sayre Public Schools is a member of the WTC district.
Sayre Public Schools is a school district serving the cities of Sayre and Elk City in 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 ...
. It includes the following schools:
* Sayre Elementary School
* Sayre Middle School
* Sayre High School
In 1994–5, the district was the defendant in a liability suit eventually decided by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma. .
Government
Sayre has an aldermanic form of city government.
NRHP listings
* Beckham County Courthouse
The Beckham County Courthouse, located in Courthouse Square in Sayre, is the county courthouse of Beckham County, Oklahoma. The courthouse is considered a local landmark because it is the tallest building in Sayre. It is also one of the few cour ...
(NR 84002968)
* J. W. Danner House (NR 02000169)
* Sayre Champlin Service Station (NR 04000130)
* Sayre Rock Island Depot
The Sayre Rock Island Depot is a historic railroad station located at 106 E. Poplar Ave. in Sayre, Oklahoma, Sayre, Oklahoma. The depot was built in 1927 along the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (a.k.a. Rock Island); it replaced Sayre's ...
(also known as the Shortgrass Country Museum, NR 00000654)
* Sayre City Park (NR 04000127)
* Sayre Downtown Historic District (NR 02000972)
Notable people
* Maxie Anderson
Maxie Anderson (September 10, 1934 – June 27, 1983) was an American hot air balloonist and Congressional Gold Medal recipient He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlantic ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle II a ...
, hot air balloonist, member of the first crew to cross the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
in a balloon
* Leo Meyer, served as mayor of Sayre from 1905-1906. He moved to Guthrie in 1907 when he was chosen as the new state's first assistant Secretary of State.
References
External links
Sayre -- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
Sayre, Oklahoma Government Website
Sayre Public Schools
{{Authority control
Cities in Beckham County, Oklahoma
Cities in Oklahoma
County seats in Oklahoma
Populated places established in 1901