Verden is a town in western Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. It abuts the Caddo County line, and is probably best known as the site of the 1865 Camp Napoleon Council. The population was 530 at the 2010 census, a decline from 659 in 2000.O'Dell, Larry. "Verden." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed November 11, 2016.

History

A rural community called "Cottonwood Grove" began to emerge near the present site of Verden before 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 ...

. It was on the eastern edge of the

Kiowa 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 ...

and Comanche reservation that was established by the

Medicine Lodge Treaty The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the Federal government of the United States and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by re ...

, that was made with the U.S. government in 1867. A stage stop was established at Cottonwood Grove for travelers en route from Boggy Depot to the Kiowa Agency, Fort Sill, and

Fort Cobb Fort Cobb was a United States Army post established in what is now Caddo County, Oklahoma in 1859 to protect relocated Native Americans from raids by the Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne. The fort was abandoned by Maj. William H. Emory at the beginn ...

. The land around the community, outside the reservation, belonged to the Half Moon Ranch, owned by W. G. "Caddo" Williams. His son-in-law, Charles Campbell, owner of the 7BC Ranch, and E. B. Johnson bought the Half Moon around 1900. The

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 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. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

(a.k.a. CRI&P or Rock Island Railroad) built tracks through this area, between

Chickasha Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connected ...

and Mangum in 1900. James N. Jones and his family claimed the land around Cottonwood Grove when the tribes living near the Kiowa Agency were allowed to claim their land allotments. A post office was established at Cottonwood Grove, in 1899, but was discontinued in 1900. Another post office was established in 1902, which was named "Verden", because there was another Cottonwood Grove post office elsewhere in the Oklahoma Territory. The town was platted in 1904, and A. A. Hiatt sold the lots for the CRI&P townsite division. In 1907, Verden became a town incorporated in Oklahoma Territory by the commissioners of Caddo County, and had a population of 312. Agriculture has been the main economic activity in Verden since its founding, and the railroad made Verden an important shipping point for products of the farms and ranches. The town's public school began in 1905 and absorbed a Caddo County district in 1917. By 1910, the population had climbed to 524 and the town had two banks, a newspaper, the ''Verden News'', a telephone connection, an electric company, a grain elevator, a cotton yard, a cotton gin, a milling company, a lumberyard, and several retail outlets. The business district had survived a major fire in 1908. It also survived several floods that plagued the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

valley.

Geography

Verden is located in western Grady County at (35.083762, -98.088790). It is on

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Can ...

and State Highway 9, west of

, 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 ...

, and east of Anadarko. The town's western border follows the Caddo County line, and the

flows to the east just outside the northern border of the town. 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 t ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 659 people, 246 households, and 182 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 280 housing units at an average density of 870.0 per square mile (337.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.44%

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 o ...

, 6.07% Native American, 0.15%

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 ...

, 0.15% 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 3.19% from two or more races.

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 forme ...

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 0.61% of the population. There were 246 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.14. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,667, and the median income for a family was $26,833. Males had a median income of $24,063 versus $20,469 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 $11,617. About 11.6% of families and 13.4% 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 11.3% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Verden resident Allen Toles was an

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 ...

farmer who had become a landowner through the

Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...

.Lane, Jessica
"Verden Separate School featured as best in country,"
''The Express-Star'', June 25, 2014. Accessed January 28, 2015. He built the Verden Separate School on his own property in 1910 as a school for black children. The school operated until 1935."Historic one-room Chickasha schoolhouse for blacks to celebrate centennial,"
''NewsOK'', June 19, 2010. Accessed January 28, 2015. The school building was rediscovered by historians in 2004 and restored and relocated to nearby

. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2005.

Utilities

* Telephone, Internet, and Digital TV Services is provided by Hilliary Communications.

References