Earlsboro is a town in Pottawatomie 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 594 by the 2020 United States census. It was once called "...the town that whisky built and oil broke." Jeff Mize, "Earlsboro," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Retrieved May 22, 2012.

History

The town of Earlsborough (as it was spelled on the town plat) began in 1891, when the Choctaw Coal and Railway (later the

Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad The Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), known informally as the "Choctaw Route," was an American railroad in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Origins The company, originally known as the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company, completed it ...

) built a line west from the Seminole Nation into

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

. The town was located one-half mile inside Oklahoma Territory. It was named for James Earls, a local African American who had served as an orderly for Confederate General

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil ...

during the Civil War. The spelling of the town name changed when the Earlsboro post office opened on June 12, 1895. The town had an economic boom from the outset because Indian Territory was legally " dry," but Oklahoma Territory was not. The first three businesses were saloons, and it was said that 90 percent of the merchants were engaged in liquor sales. By 1905, the town had a population estimated at 500. Many customers were visitors from Indian Territory. Statehood brought prohibition to all of Oklahoma, and the population of Earlsboro quickly dropped to 387. The local economy subsequently relied on agriculture instead of liquor. Oil was struck nearby on March 1, 1926. The first well produced 200 barrels a day. News of the strike attracted workers, and the town population increased to an estimated ten thousand people within two months. The ensuing boom led to construction of a one hundred thousand dollar hotel, a large theater, and many different kinds of business. In 1929, the town passed a $225,000 bond issue to construct a water and sewer system. The population was officially 1,950 at the 1930 census. The oil boom turned into a bust when production declined precipitously in 1932. The newcomers, now deeply in debt, fled the scene, abandoning homes and businesses. The city went into bankruptcy, since it could no longer pay its debts. In 1959 the ''Daily Oklahoman'' reported that Earlsboro "was the town that whisky built and oil broke." On May 4, 2022, an EF2 tornado struck the southeastern part of town before looping around and striking the eastern half of the town, damaging homes, power lines, and buildings. An additional EF1 tornado began near the starting point of the first tornado, causing additional damage as it moved east.

Geography

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 , of which is land and (0.22%) 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 2010, there were 628 people living in the town. The population density was . There were 260 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 70.46%

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 ...

, 11.22%

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, 0.32% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 5.69% 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 1.42% of the population. There were 229 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.7% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,214, and the median income for a family was $32,396. Males had a median income of $30,956 versus $15,865 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 $12,488. About 11.3% of families and 12.6% 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 9.2% of those under age 18 and 20.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of the town is within the Earlsboro Public Schools school district, while some parts are in the Strother Public Schools district, and some are in South Rock Creek Public School district (elementary).
Text list
/ref>

Notable residents

* Oleta Crain, African-American military officer and federal civil servant * Ival Goodman, MLB all-star *

Joe Liggins Joseph Christopher Liggins Jr. (born Theodro Elliott; July 9, 1916 – July 26, 1987) was an American R&B, jazz and blues pianist and vocalist who led Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers in the 1940s and 1950s. His band appeared often on the ''Bi ...

, R&B pianist * Jimmy Liggins, R&B guitarist and brother of Joe Liggins *

Ernest McFarland Ernest William McFarland (October 9, 1894 – June 8, 1984) was an American politician, jurist and, with Warren Atherton, one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He served in all three branches of government, two at the state level, one at the ...

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962– 1982 ...

, Hall of Fame American baseball player

Notable events

The podcast ''Song Salad'', with hosts Shannon and Scott (featuring special guest

Abby Trott Abby Trott is an American voice actress. She started out by acting in puppet shows in Japan, before moving to the United States and joining Bang Zoom! Entertainment, where she has worked on numerous anime, animation, and video game series. Some ...

), covered the town of Earlsboro in episode 66 (June 2017). https://soundcloud.com/songsaladpodcast/ep-66-shinda-ushi-dead-cows

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Earlsboro
{{authority control Towns in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma