Foss is a town in Washita 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. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 151, an 18.9 percent increase from 127 at the 2000 census.

History

The history of Foss began when settlers from the area of the Wilson post office moved four miles north to the valley of Turkey Creek in the late 1890s. They initially wanted their new

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

to be called Graham, but since that name was already taken it was named Maharg (an anagram of Graham). A

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

on May 2, 1902, wiped out the town on Turkey Creek, destroying businesses and drowning several people. The town rebuilt on higher ground and was named Foss. The post office began operation on September 15, 1900. The town expanded rapidly. By 1905 the town had a population between 900 and 1000 residents. It had two

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s, three

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

s, and by 1912 had an electric plant, two

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s and an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

. It also had plants to manufacture hay balers, baby carriages, and brooms."Foss." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Boothe, Wayne. Retrieved August 5, 2014. The population stabilized near 500. In the 1920s the town began to have economic problems as the nearby cities of Clinton and Elk City absorbed more and more trade. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

more people moved away. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the town boasted a population of over 300 residents, relying primarily on

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

travellers (which passed half a mile south of the city) and a U.S. naval base south of the town that operated during wartime. A

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

and a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

also operated in the town around that time. Though in the 1950s and 1960s there was an economic revival due to the nearby Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base at Burns Flat. When the base closed and

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

bypassed Foss the town declined further. The last bank left in September 1977. Foss had two

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s, the ''Foss Enterprise'' and the ''Foss Banner''. It was served by the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (Rock Island)

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. The ''Enterprise'' went out of business in the 1930s.

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 , all land. Foss is at the intersection of

and Oklahoma State Highway 44.

Foss State Park Foss State Park is a Oklahoma state park located on Foss Lake, in southwestern Custer County, Oklahoma, near the city of Foss. Recreational activities include hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, boating, swimming and camping. Faciliti ...

Foss Reservoir Foss Reservoir, also known as Foss Lake, is in Custer County, Oklahoma on the Washita River, about west of Clinton, Oklahoma. The reservoir was constructed during 1958–1961 by the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. The project was known originally ...

is about 6 miles to the north. The

Washita National Wildlife Refuge Washita National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) of the United States located in Custer County, Oklahoma. Created in 1961 on the shore of Foss Lake, it was the fourth NWR in the state. It is west of Butler, Oklahoma.

is at the north end of Foss Reservoir.

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 127 people, 55 households, and 38 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 69 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 81.89%

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 ...

, 7.09% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 3.94% from other races, and 6.30% 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 7.87% of the population. There were 55 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,375, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $35,750 versus $15,625 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 $12,168. There were 11.1% of families and 10.4% of the population living 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 11.4% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Economy

Foss was an important agricultural center in the early part of the 20th century. It has declined in importance, but is still a small agricultural center.

References

External links