Sentinel is a town in Washita County, in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The population was 901 in the 2010 census, an increase of 4.9 percent from the figure of 859 residents in 2000.Sentinel, Oklahoma Population
Retrieved August 4, 2013. Towns near Sentinel are Rocky, Cordell, Canute, and Burnsflat.

History

Located in southwestern Washita County, Sentinel lies at the intersection of State Highways 44 and 55. The town is primarily an

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

-based community. The 1892 Cheyenne and Arapaho Opening brought non-Indians into the region. In 1898, R. B. Gore, a pioneer of Old Greer County, established a small general merchandise store in the area and applied for a post office. On March 6, 1899, the Post Office Department approved the application and designated the locale as Sentinel, Oklahoma Territory. The name originated from Cloud Chief's ''Herald-Sentinel'' newspaper. This store was approximately one mile east of the present town.Wolfenbarger, Jolene. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Sentinel."
Retrieved February 12, 2016. In 1901, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, later bought by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, began purchasing rights-of-way and designating new townsites for a proposed railroad. The newly formed Orient Townsite Company chose the site of present Sentinel and received a donation of eighty acres from L. N. Whitmer. They named the new town "Barton" and filed a

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

on September 23, 1901. The new residents asked Gore to relocate his store and post office to the new location. This caused confusion, as the town and post office had different names. In 1904, Will Hornbeck established the Sentinel News-Boy. Determined to correct the name problem, he started a petition to incorporate the town as Sentinel. In 1906, the voters approved this measure in an election. In August 1907, the town officially became Sentinel. At the 1907 statehood, it had 351 residents. By 1908, the Orient had built their tracks through the village. In 1910 the population stood at 857, climbing to 1,269 by 1930. In 1911 residents supported two banks, a newspaper, electricity and telephone service, four grocers, two hotels, four general stores, among many other businesses and professionals. In 1935, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located just west of Sentinel. The population held above one thousand until 1970 when it registered 984. In 1967, the Rocky school consolidated into Sentinel School District. In 1961, the chamber of commerce began hosting an annual, large July Fourth celebration. In 2000, the population stood at 859.

Geography

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 town has a total area of , all land. Sentinel is located in western Oklahoma's Washita County at the intersection of Highway 44 and Highway 55.

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 859 people, 346 households, and 256 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 411 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.01%

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 ...

, 0.12%

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 ...

, 3.03% Native American, 5.47% from other races, and 3.38% 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 11.29% of the population. There were 346 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,265, and the median income for a family was $34,531. Males had a median income of $23,846 versus $19,250 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 town was $14,122. About 15.4% of families and 17.8% 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 31.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Th
Sentinel School District
has a large geographic area consisting of over . The present school plant was constructed in the 1960s. Sentinel is a class 'A' school. Students from the communities of Sentinel, Port, Rocky, and Carter attend Sentinel Public Schools. Sentinel public School is a member of the Western Technology Center District, which provides occupation-specific training for adults and high school students.

References

{{authority control Towns in Washita County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma 1901 establishments in Oklahoma Territory