Allen is a town in Hughes and Pontotoc counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 805 at the 2020 census.

History

The town was founded in 1883 by a group of white settlers who had arrived in

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation in area after the Navajo, exceeding t ...

Indian Territory 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 States, ...

in 1882 from Gainesville,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, led by

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

veteran Doctor John Trigg Gilmore, his wife, Elizabeth Louise Oliveaux, their children, and relatives William and George McCall, with their respective families. They first settled in Cold Springs, northwest of the present town site, where other settlers soon joined them. The first log cabin was built in Allen in 1883, and this building was used as both a school and church. The town was named after the son of deputy

United States marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

William McCall.''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture- Allen'' Allen, Oklahoma is the modern-day site of the Battle of Middle Boggy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In 1892, Dr. Gilmore became Allen's first postmaster and founded the town's first

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

two years later. The Missouri, Oklahoma, and Gulf Railway built a line through the area in 1909, although it bypassed Allen, by a half-mile. Allen became a

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although t ...

in 1913, when an oil well was drilled west of the town. The population rose from 645 in 1910 to 1,389 in 1930, but dropped to 907 in 1970. Its principal industries besides

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

are ranching and agriculture. The

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

held weekly meetings in Allen as late as 1923 according to the ''Allen Democrat'', a former local newspaper. The ''Allen Advocate'' is a weekly newspaper published on Thursday in Allen.Finder Binder: Oklahoma's Updated Media Directory, 2010 Winter Issue. The newspaper is published by the Robinson Publishing Company, founded in 1982, by Bill and Dayna Robinson."The Robinson Publishing Company: About Us"
(accessed March 15, 2010) The company also publishes the ''Coalgate Record Register'' and the ''Holdenville Tribune''.

Geography

Allen is located on State Highway 1, approximately northeast of Ada, which is the county seat of Pontotoc County. 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 0.9 square mile (2.4 km²), all land.

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 2010, there were 932 people living in the town. The population density was . There were 430 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 77.29%

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 ...

, 0.42%

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 ...

, 14.30% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.95% from other races, and 6.94% 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 2.00% of the population. There were 384 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% 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, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,632, and the median income for a family was $26,845. Males had a median income of $21,739 versus $17,500 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 $10,928. About 16.6% of families and 20.4% 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 ...

, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Allen is in the Allen Public Schools school district. Allen has an elementary school, middle school, and high school.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Allen
{{Authority control Towns in Hughes County, Oklahoma Towns in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Indian Territory