Grandfield is a city in Tillman 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. The population was 1,038 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Grandfield is located at (34.230213, -98.687646). 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 , all land.

Climate

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 1,110 people, 434 households, and 295 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 1,387.9 people per square mile (535.7/km²). There were 534 housing units at an average density of 667.7 per square mile (257.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.98%

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 ...

, 9.37%

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 ...

, 3.51% Native American, 0.18%

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 ...

, 11.17% 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 3.78% 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 18.92% of the population. There were 434 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,500, and the median income for a family was $27,222. Males had a median income of $23,281 versus $16,250 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 $13,823. About 20.7% of families and 26.7% 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 38.6% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Opening the Big Pasture

The

Big Pasture The Big Pasture was of prairie land, in what is now southwestern Oklahoma. The land had been reserved for grazing use by the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes after their reserve was opened for settlement by a lottery conducted during June th ...

, approximately bounded on the south by the Red River and presently located in parts of Comanche, Cotton, and Tillman counties, was the last settled territory in Oklahoma. Native control of the land traces to the

Quapaw The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Ohi ...

, who ceded it to the United States in 1818. The Choctaw and Chickasaw accepted the area in the 1820s and 1830s but lost it as a result of the Reconstruction Treaty of 1866. By the terms of the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 a reservation that included the Big Pasture was set-aside for 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 eve ...

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

, and

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

. The land became 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 th ...

in December 1906. Opening bids to quarter-sections of the Big Pasture to prospective homesteader began on December 3 and ended on December 15, 1909. There were over 100,000 bids for the available 1,830 quarter-sections. Bids varied from $5,800 to $7,376. Prior to the opening of the area, the United States platted five official townships: Randlett, Ahpeatone, Isadore, Quanah and Eschiti. The only town remaining today is Randlett. Eschiti was the official town nearest the present site of Grandfield.

Founding

Problems began when the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railroad missed Eschiti by two miles and Kell City (named for the railroad promoter

Frank Kell Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

) sprang up along the railroad's route. By 1907, Eschiti had an official United States Post Office and Kell City had the railroad. Citizens from both towns were in heated competition for new settlers and businesses moving to the area. To try to settle the differences, Reverend Andrew J. Tant, a Baptist minister and homesteader, went into partnership with Frank Kell and offered free lots to businesses if they would relocate to the Tant farm, which would eventually become Grandfield. Since the Tant farm was only about a mile from Kell City, people willingly moved. Free lots were also promised to all churches and schools. Observers at that time wrote they could look through their windows and see lines of houses being moved. According to Mrs. Lawrence Hooks, an early settler, she once cooked breakfast in Eschiti and dinner in Grandfield, without leaving her house. A committee appealed to the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

to establish a post office. Assistant Postmaster General Charles P. Grandfield was helpful in granting the request. Consequently, the town was named in his honor. On January 16, 1909, Grandfield citizens voted, almost unanimously, for incorporation, and the post office opened January 21, 1909. In 1910 the population stood at 830. The town's founders and early residents came from a variety of locations, backgrounds, cultures and religions; the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas were well represented, and a substantial number of newly arrived European immigrants also made their homes in Grandfield.

Oil boom

There were two oil fields discovered in the Grandfield area: the Northwest Oil Field; and the Red River Oil Field. The influence of the oil industry on Grandfield cannot be overstated. The closing of the Bell Oil and Refinery Company refinery in the 1960s arguably started the population decline.

Sports

Grandfield High School won the Oklahoma High School Football Class C Championship in 1948 and 1958. Switching from 11-man to 8-man football, they captured two Class C state football championships in 1992 and 1993. They also won the Girls Basketball Championship in 1968.
Despite the influence of All State forward Kenneth Johnson, the Boys Basketball team came up short in the 1978 Class B title game, losing to New Lima, the defending Class B champions. During an era without a three-point scoring line, Johnson scored an Oklahoma state record 105 points on January 6, 1979 against Terral (OK) High School. He also set state records for most points in a season (1,280 in 1978-79), and most points in a career (3,191).

Historic places

Grandfield's historic places included the Grandfield Downtown Historic District (NR 02000656), the William and Mabel Donahoo Hubbard House (NR 91000310), the Humphreys Drugstore Building (NR 92000797), the Rock Island Depot Building (NR 96000978), and the Tillman County Bank of Grandfield (NR 92000796).

References

External links

Chamber of Commerce Website

Grandfield Downtown Historic District (NR 02000656)

New Mexico State University Sculpture (Joy of Learning)
{{authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Tillman County, Oklahoma