Drumright is a city in Creek and Payne 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 ...

. It began as an

oil boom An oil boom is a period of large inflow of income as a result of high global oil prices or large oil production in an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economic benefits, in terms of increased GDP growth, but might later lead ...

town. However, the population has declined as oil production has waned in the area. The population was 2,907 at the 2010 census, a figure almost unchanged from 2,905 in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Drumright and nearby Cushing were at the center of the large, productive Cushing-Drumright Oil Field in the 1910s and 1920s. Now Drumright is home to a festival called The Drumright Monthly Market, where hundreds of visitors come on the first Saturday of every month, seeking crafts and delicacies from all over the region.

History

The town sprang up nearly overnight in 1912, after wildcatter Tom Slick struck oil on the farm of Frank Wheeler, causing a rush of speculators, oilfield workers, and merchants into the area. A post office was established in the community on December 28, 1912. Local landowners James W. Fulkerson and Aaron Drumright platted a townsite, which was initially called Fulkerson, The town was renamed for Aaron Drumright, a farmer and later local businessman whose farm was part of the townsite.Linda D. Wilson, "Drumright," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed June 1, 2015. Oil workers flooded into town so quickly that they lived in tents or shacks made from box cars, causing the community to be known locally as "Ragtown." Hotels and boarding houses were constructed next, as well as amenities like gambling dens, dance halls, and roadhouses, where the workers could spend their money. Drumright incorporated as a town on May 27, 1913. In 1914, the city built a two-story building of stone to serve as an elementary and high school. It was called Washington School, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRIS 81000462). Two banks opened in the town during 1914. Drumright was designated a first-class city after an election on April 18, 1916. The 1920 census reported a population of 6,460. The Oil Fields and Santa Fe Railway, an

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

(AT&SF) subsidiary, built a track from Frey Junction (south of Oilton) to Drumright in 1915. The following year, the AT&SF built a line north from Shamrock to Drumright. The Oil Fields and Santa Fe Railway was merged into the AT&SF in 1941. In 1919 a riot broke out in Drumright during a strike by telephone workers. The town's mayor and chief of police were locked in the town jail by rioters. The Governor of Oklahoma sent six militia units to town to restore order. Drumright hosted

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. The Drumright Oilers teams played as members of the Class D level

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

and Oklahoma State League between 1920 and 1923. In the fall of 1922,

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

and his

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

teammate

Bob Meusel Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left fielder, left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yanke ...

played in an exhibition game in Drumright while on a barnstorming tour. Beginning with the Depression of the 1930s, the town declined as oil production waned, and a large refinery at the edge of town closed in the 1950s.

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

es have caused loss of life and property damage in Drumright on at least two occasions: on April 2, 1956, when five people were killed and several homes, a school, and the public library were damaged; and on June 8, 1974, when 12 people were killed, a nursing home was destroyed, and about 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Geography

Drumright is located in western Creek County. A small portion of the city extends west into Payne County. Drumright is west of Sapulpa, 42 miles southwest of Tulsa and 76 miles northeast of Oklahoma City at the junction of State Highways 16, 33 and 99. 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 city has a total area of , of which , or 0.19%, is water.

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 2,905 people, 1,209 households, and 790 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,378 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.44%

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 ...

, 0.93%

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 ...

, 8.47% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 5.96% 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 0.90% of the population. There were 1,209 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% 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, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,292, and the median income for a family was $34,761. Males had a median income of $30,069 versus $20,123 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 city was $14,511. About 13.7% of families and 17.3% 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 19.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Drumright has a council-manager form of government. The Mayor is Mark Whinnery. The Vice Mayor is Derrek Beaumont. The other city commissioners are Jeremy Snow, Tabitha Snell and Misty Cook. The City Manager is Shawn Gibson, the City Clerk is Shawna Jackson and the City Attorney is Andrew Nestor, III. City Hall is located at 424 E Broadway. The Library is located at 104 E Broadway. The Fire Department is located at 116 W Broadway. The Police Department is located at 122 W Broadway. The Chamber of Commerce is located at 103 W Broadway

Economy

Today, manufacturing, oil, gas, education, medicine and agriculture are the largest local industries. Drumright is home to an area vocational and technical school, Central Technology Center, which opened August 22, 1970, and employs about 125 people. Drumright is also home to the Drumright Regional Hospital. A tourist attraction is the Tidewater Winery that opened in a historic building that once served as a school for the children of refinery workers.

Transportation

Drumright is at the eastern intersection of State Highway 33 (east-west) and State Highway 99 (north-south). It is also the western terminus of State Highway 16 (also east–west, but further to the south of SH-33). The nearest airfield is Cushing Municipal Airport, about 12 miles west-southwest. The nearest commercial field is

Tulsa International Airport Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of Downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929 ...

, about 50 miles east-northeast.

Education

Drumright School District includes approximately 500 students in two school buildings. Bradley Elementary serves Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st through 5th. Cooper Middle School serves 6th through 8th, while in another part of the same building, Drumright High School serves 9th through 12th. Central Tech, the marketing name for the Central Technology Center, previously Central Vo-Tech, is an affiliate of Oklahoma CareerTech, the state’s system of career and technology education. Central Tech offers full-time and short-term classes in a large variety of fields.

Parks and attractions

Drumright buildings sport multiple murals, including the Oil Patch Collage Mural on the Sugar Plum Antiques Building, the American Flag Mural on the Drumright Fire Department Building, the Way Park Mural on the Boomtown Theatre Building, and the Drumright Street Scene of 1920 Mural on the Citizen's Insurance Agency Building. Additional murals are inside the Drumright Historical Museum. The Drumright Historical Museum is housed in a 1915 Santa Fe Depot which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and has old railroad cars, but focuses on the unique history of the first great oil discovery in Oklahoma in 1912, leading to the Drumright Field producing more oil than any other in the world by 1917. Whitlock Park features a splashpad, skateboard park, a stage for special events, pavilions, a playground for young kids, and walking paths. Way Park features a gazebo for musical performances. Dunbar Park has a gazebo for picnics. Judy Shelton Burris Park has a Dog Park and a basketball court. Garrett Park in Country Club Heights has a basketball court. The Deborah Guillot Bright Nature Preserve is at the corner of E Oak and N Oklahoma. The following sites are NRHP-listed: * Jackson Barnett No. 11 Oil Well *Wheeler No. 1 Oil Well *

Drumright Gasoline Plant No. 2 The Drumright Gasoline Plant No. 2, near Drumright, Oklahoma, began operation August 2, 1917. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The listing included four contributing buildings and five contributing structures ...

* First United Methodist Church of Drumright *Aaron Drumright House *J.W. Fulkerson House *Santa Fe Depot (now the Drumright Historical Museum) *Tidal School *Washington School

References

External links

City of Drumright official website

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Drumright
* City of Drumright Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/CityOfDrumright/
{{authority control Cities in Creek County, Oklahoma Cities in Payne County, Oklahoma Cities in Oklahoma Muscogee (Creek) Nation Populated places established in 1913 1913 establishments in Oklahoma