Cleora is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in Delaware 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, along State Highway 85. The population was 1,463 at the 2010 census, up from the figure of 1,113 recorded in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. The Cleora Post Office existed from November 28, 1900, until October 15, 1954. Cleora was established in District 2 of the old

Indian Territory The 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 St ...

. It was named for Cleora Ann Lunday, sister of the postmaster, Ed Lunday.

History

Few dates are available to detail how the community developed. Settlement began ''circa'' 1890, before Oklahoma became a state, and was part of the Cherokee Nation of Indian Territory. The main occupation was farming. The rich soil produced wheat, corn and oats. However, the unnamed community was far from any larger settlements. The local residents had to travel to either Afton or Vinita to either shop or get their mail. Local resident, Ed Lunday, soon built a general store, and was then persuaded by the other residents to apply for a post office. He needed to name the post office before submitting his application, and decided to name it for one of his six sisters. The Cleora post office was established in Lunday's store on November 28, 1900. A school, two churches (Methodist and Christian) and some houses had been built before 1904, when a tornado destroyed the Christian church."History of Cleora." Rootsweb. Undated.
Accessed December 15, 2017. The

Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (KO&G) was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to i ...

(KO&G) built its main line through Cleora in 1910, apparently bringing prosperity in its wake. Sunday's general store moved into a larger building and Bob Aldrich opened a hardware store. Other businesses were a two-story hotel, lumber company, grain elevator and livery stable. In 1928, residents decided to consolidate the three small school districts of Old Cleota, New Cleota and Walnut Hill. When planning began for the Pensacola Dam and the

Grand Lake o' the Cherokees Grand Lake o' the Cherokees is situated in Northeast Oklahoma in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain Range. It is often simply called Grand Lake. It is administered by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA). History The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahom ...

, it was learned that much of the older sites would be inundated by the project. Although some residents moved to higher ground, many others simply moved away.

Geography

Cleora is located in northwestern Delaware County on the northwest side of the

. It is southwest of Bernice, south of Afton, and southeast of Vinita. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.64%, is water.

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 1,113 people, 518 households, and 386 families residing in the community. The population density was . There were 1,326 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the community was 86.25%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 11.05% Native American, 0.09% from other races, and 2.52% 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 0.45% of the population. There were 518 households, out of which 16.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.8% 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, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.44. The population age was spread out, with 14.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 16.3% from 25 to 44, 38.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males. The median income for a household in the community was $35,368, and the median income for a family was $42,411. Males had a median income of $37,411 versus $26,184 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 community was $29,245. About 8.0% of families and 9.0% 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 8.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Geography

Demographics

Notes

References

Further reading