Ames is a town in southeastern Major County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 193 at the 2020 census, down from 239 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Ames is best known for being located within the boundary of a geological structure that is called the Ames crater or the Ames Astrobleme. The Ames Astrobleme Museum is located in the town.Barron, Robert. ''Enid News''. "Ames Astrobleme Museum."
July 29, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2014.

History

Ames was founded at the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893. It was initially named "Hoyle", for a nearby creek. The Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) constructed a line from Blackwell in Kay County to Darrow in Blaine County, that passed through the community. On January 4, 1902, it was named for Henry S. Ames, a railroad official.Ross Peterson-Veatch, ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Ames."
Retrieved May 15, 2014. Ames had a population of 278 at the 1920 census and 332 at the 1940 census, its peak population. Oil was discovered within the Ames crater in 1991. American Oil & Gas Historical Society. "Ames Astrobleme Museum." Retrieved May 15, 2014.
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Geography

Ames is located in southeastern Major County, about northwest of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, southwest of Enid, and east of Fairview, the Major

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

(roadv distances). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Ames has a total area of , all land. Hoyle Creek, a southwest-flowing tributary of the Cimarron River, passes just west of the town limits.

Ames Astrobleme Museum

The Ames Astrobleme Museum, which opened August 18, 2007, features numerous image panels and a video showing the formation of the Ames crater and its discovery as a significant geological and economic resource. The crater was caused by a

meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

striking the area 450 million years ago. There is sediment deep covering the crater, and the town of Ames is located approximately in the middle of the crater. The crater is in diameter and is similar to craters on the moon. It is one of the few oil-producing craters in the world. Cumulative production figures through the end of 2006 show production in the Ames crater area approaching 11 million barrels.

Annual events

Every year in the month of August, the town celebrates Ames Day, both to commemorate the founding of the town and to raise funds for the town's volunteer fire department. Ames Day celebrations have included parades, golf tournaments, pie auctions, turtle races, greased pig chases, mutton busting competitions, chicken roping, cow patty bingo, tug of war competitions, baseball games, beard-growing contests, and husband-calling competitions.

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 239 people living in the town. The population density was . There were 111 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.99%

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 ...

, 2.01% from other 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 4.52% of the population. There were 91 households, out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 30.8% 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 2.19 and the average family size was 2.69. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,563, and the median income for a family was $33,438. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $18,750 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 $12,566. About 19.7% of families and 22.9% 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 46.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 14.0% of those 65 or over.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Ames

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control Towns in Major County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma