Bryan County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,067. Its

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 ...

is Durant. It is the only county in the United States named for Democratic politician

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

. Bryan County comprises the Durant, OK micropolitan statistical area, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth and the

Texoma Texoma is an interstate region in the United States, split between Oklahoma and Texas. The name is a portmanteau of Texas and Oklahoma. Businesses use the term in their names to describe their intended service area. This includes 8 counties with ...

region, TX-OK combined statistical area. The city of Durant has the headquarters of the

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Choctaw language, Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Indian reservation, Native American reservation occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. At roughly , it is the second-largest reservation ...

. Bryan County consists of 10

Townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

: Albany, Bennington, Bokchito, Brown, Caddo, Calera, Colbert, Kemp, Matoy, and Speairs.

History

The area now known as Bryan County was occupied by the Choctaw tribe in 1831–2. After the tribe reestablished its government in the Indian Territory, it included much of the area within Blue County, a part of the

Pushmataha District Pushmataha District was one of three provinces, or districts, comprising the former Choctaw Nation in the Indian Territory. Also called the Third District, it encompassed the southwestern one-third of the nation. The Pushmataha District was named ...

of the Choctaw Nation. In 1845, the tribe opened Armstrong Academy for boys near the community of Bokchito. The academy served as Chahta Tamaha, the Choctaw capital, during the Civil War. Bloomfield Academy, a school for

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

girls, was opened in 1852, just south of the present town of

Achille Achille (, ) is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * ...

.Milligan, James C
"Bryan County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', 2009. Accessed March 28, 2015. Prior to the Chickasaw removal to Indian Territory, the

tribe bought part of the Choctaw allocation. The western quarter of today's Bryan County was made part of the Chickasaw District in 1837. When the two tribes formally separated into two distinct nations in 1855, the Chickasaw District became the Chickasaw Nation. During the late 1850s, the Butterfield Overland Mail and Stage route followed the older Texas Road across the present county. General

Albert Pike Albert Pike (December 29, 1809April 2, 1891) was an American author, poet, orator, editor, lawyer, jurist and Confederate States Army general who served as an List of justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court, associate justice of the Arkansas Supr ...

established

Fort McCulloch Fort McCulloch was a Confederate military fort built by CSA Brigadier General Albert Pike in the Indian Territory during the American Civil War after the Battle of Pea Ridge. History After the southern states seceded from the United States of A ...

for the Confederate Army near the present town of Kenefic on the Blue River. Although no Civil War battles occurred in the vicinity, the fort was garrisoned by more than a thousand Indian troops whose leaders were allied with the Confederates. After the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (Katy) built a north–south line through this area in 1872, several new towns were created. One such town was Colbert, which became the seat of Blue County and the largest town in the Choctaw Nation. The St. Louis, San Francisco and New Orleans Railroad, later bought by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco), built an east–west line in 1903. Just prior to statehood, when all tribal governments were dissolved, Blue County was extinguished. Bryan County was officially established on November 16, 1907, and Durant was designated as the county seat. The Bridge War, also called the

Red River Bridge War The Red River Bridge War was a boundary conflict between the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas over an existing toll bridge and a new free bridge crossing the Red River. The Red River Bridge Company, a private firm owned by Benjamin Colbert, ...

or the Toll Bridge War, was a 1931 bloodless boundary conflict between the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas over an existing toll bridge and a new free bridge crossing the Red River between

Grayson County, Texas Grayson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 135,543. The county seat is Sherman, Texas, Sherman. The county was founded in 1846 and is named ...

and Bryan County, Oklahoma.

Geography

State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River

Bryan County is in southeastern Oklahoma, in a 10-county area designated as

Choctaw Country Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeast Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The current ...

for tourism purposes by the

Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation is a government agency, department of the government of Oklahoma within the Tourism and Branding Cabinet. The Department is responsible for regulating Oklahoma's tourism industry and for promotin ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.2%) is water. The county is in the Coastal Plains physiographic region, and is drained mostly by the Blue River. The

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

originally drained much of the western part of the county, but now empties into

Lake Texoma Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th-largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklah ...

, which forms much of the southern boundary of the county. The county is a major part of the

region.

Major highways

* US-69 * US-70 * US-75 * SH-91 * SH-70E * SH-48 * SH-199 * SH-78

Adjacent counties

Atoka County Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,143. Its county seat is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named ...

(north) * Choctaw County (east) *

Lamar County, Texas Lamar County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the Northeast Texas region. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,088. Its county seat is Paris. The county was formed by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on Dece ...

(southeast) *

Fannin County, Texas Fannin County is a county in the far northeast of the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 35,662, making it the 87th-most populous county in Texas. The entirety of Fannin County is a part ...

(south) *

(southwest) * Marshall County (west) * Johnston County (northwest)

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 36,534 people, 14,422 households, and 9,936 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 16,715 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.02%

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 ...

, 1.42%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 12.16% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.08% from other races, and 4.84% from two or more races; 2.65% of the population were

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. 28.4% were of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, 10.1% Irish, 8.1%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and 6.7%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

ancestry. By 2020, its population grew to 46,067. In 2000, there were 14,422 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.00% 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, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 11.70% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. According to the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $27,888, and the median income for a family was $33,984. Males had a median income of $26,831 versus $20,087 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 county was $14,217. About 14.00% of families and 18.40% 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 21.40% of those under age 18 and 17.00% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

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 ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

, and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

are bedrocks of the county's economy. Tourism attractions include

, Lake Durant, the Choctaw Casino Resort, Choctaw Casino Bingo and

Fort Washita Fort Washita is the former United States military post and National Historic Landmark located in Durant, Oklahoma on SH 199. Established in 1842 by General (later President) Zachary Taylor to protect citizens of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nati ...

. Major employers in the region include the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the headquarters of the J.C. Potter meat processing facility, Durant's Historic Central Business District and Retail District, a Cardinal Glass Industries manufacturing facility, AllianceHealth Durant,http://www.ok-durant.org/files/profiles/22/2017%20Major%20Employers-Durant.pdf a

Big Lots Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American discount retail chain, specializing in the sale of closeout and overstock merchandise. Founded in 1967 as Consolidated Stores, the chain is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and in ...

distribution center, the headquarters of

First United Bank First United Bank is a banking institution headquartered in Durant, Oklahoma that specializes in personal and commercial banking, investment management, insurance, and mortgage products. First United controls $13 billion in combined assets and is ...

and First Texoma National Bank, Indian Nation Wholesale, and Wal-Mart.

Communities

City

* Durant (county seat)

Towns

* Armstrong *

Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

* Bokchito *

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

* Calera * Colbert *

Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

* Kemp * Kenefic *

Mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

Silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

Census-designated places

* Albany *

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

* Cartwright, Oklahoma, Cartwright * Platter, Oklahoma, Platter * Sand Point, Oklahoma, Sand Point * Utica, Oklahoma, Utica

Other unincorporated communities

* Allison, Oklahoma, Allison * Banty, Oklahoma, Banty * Brown, Oklahoma, Brown * Cade, Oklahoma, Cade * Cobb, Oklahoma, Cobb * Kiersey, Oklahoma, Kiersey * Romia, Oklahoma, Romia * Roberta, Oklahoma, Roberta * Yarnaby, Oklahoma, Yarnaby * Yuba, Oklahoma, Yuba

NRHP sites

The following sites in Bryan county are on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Bryan County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{coord, 33.97, -96.25, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990 Bryan County, Oklahoma, 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907