Garvin County is a county in south-central

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 2020 census, the population was 25,656. 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 Pauls Valley. In 1906, delegates to the Constitution Convention formed Garvin County from part of the Chickasaw Nation,

Indian Territory 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 States, ...

. The county was named after Samuel J. Garvin, a local Chickasaw rancher, merchant, and banker. Its economy is largely based on farming, ranching and oil production.

History

Garvin County came into existence on November 16, 1907, the day Oklahoma became a state. The territory within the present-day county had been a part of

Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation Pickens County was a political subdivision of the Chickasaw Nation in the Indian Territory from 1855, prior to Oklahoma being admitted as a state in 1907. The county was one of four that comprised the Chickasaw Nation. Following statehood, its ter ...

in the

.Charles Goins, ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), plate 105. An election held June 20, 1908, resulted in county citizens choosing Pauls Valley as the county seat over the towns of Wynnewood and Elmore City. Oil was discovered in the southwestern part of the county known as Robberson Field in the 1920s. The Golden Trend pool, which ran from the northwest to the southern parts of the county developed later.

Geography

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 (1.4%) is water. The county lies between the Red Bed plains and the Sandstone Hills physiographic regions. The main waterways are 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 ...

, Rush Creek and Wildhorse Creek.

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

* U.S. Highway 77 * U.S. Highway 177 * State Highway 7 * State Highway 19 * State Highway 29 * State Highway 145

Adjacent counties

* McClain County (north) * Pontotoc County (east) * Murray County (southeast) * Carter County (south) * Stephens County (southwest) * Grady 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 27,210 people, 10,865 households, and 7,605 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 12,641 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.93%

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 ...

, 2.55%

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 ...

, 7.36% Native American, 0.23% 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 ...

, 1.54% from other races, and 3.34% from two or more races. 3.40% 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. By 2020, its population declined to 25,656. There were 10,865 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% 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, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,070, and the median income for a family was $34,774. Males had a median income of $28,033 versus $18,940 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 $14,856. About 11.40% of families and 15.90% 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 18.60% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

While oil and gas production are important to the county economy, agriculture has been the major industry for employment since statehood. In 1907 crops of alfalfa, broomcorn, cotton, onions, potatoes, and hay produced in the county were valued at $2.5 million. By the 1930s over had been planted with paper shelled

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

trees. By 1961 the Lindsay area harvested more broomcorn than any other region in the world, and the county slogan became "We sweep the world."

Communities

Cities

* Davis (mostly in Murray County) * Lindsay * Pauls Valley (county seat) * Wynnewood

Towns

* Elmore City * Erin Springs * Foster *

Katie Katie is an English female name. It is a form of Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports * Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player * Katie Clark (born 1994), ...

* Maysville * Paoli * Stratford

Unincorporated communities

* Hennepin (

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

) * Hoover * Pernell * Purdy * Tussy * Wallville

Ghost town

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

Historic place

* Fort Arbuckle

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Garvin County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

Garvin County Sheriff's Office
{{Coord, 34.71, -97.31, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990 1906 establishments in Indian Territory Populated places established in 1906