Glencoe is a town in northern

Payne County Payne County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 81,646. Its county seat is Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. The county was created in ...

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 601 at the 2010 census, an increase of 3.1 percent from the figure of 583 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 ...

. Glencoe is a midway point between Pawnee County and Stillwater, which is the county seat.

History

Glencoe was founded in 1899 with the establishment of the Glenco Post Office on the Eastern Oklahoma Railway. The first lots were sold on April 15, 1900. After J. Hunter Williams, editor of the ''Glencoe Mirror'', was named postmaster on January 4, 1901, he persuaded the U.S. Post Office Department to change the spelling of the town's name to Glencoe. Also that year, Glencoe was reported to be a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

, prohibiting African Americans from living or stopping in the town. In its early history Glencoe served as a trading center for the area and agriculture was the mainstay of the local economy. On January 22, 1914, a fire swept through downtown and destroyed most of the business district. While some businesses were rebuilt, the town's future growth was negatively affected by the fire.Carla S. Chlouber, "Glencoe," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
Accessed July 3, 2008.

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. The town is east of Stillwater, the county seat, on State Highway 51 and north on State Highway 108. Glencoe is a hub for northern Payne County and southern Noble County and serves as the principal community for the area. With deep historical ties to agriculture, the culture of the town is based around the traditions that accompany farming. Glencoe is located approximately 5.8 miles from Lake Lone Chimney, on the border between Payne and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

counties. The lake historically served as a recreational outlet for the town, drawing in sportsmen for tournaments and other outdoors event. Following the drought which ravished the region in the early 2010s, the lake experienced dramatic water losses and as a result, the economy and culture of the town was negatively impacted.

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 583 people, 233 households, and 164 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 261 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.74%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

, 4.46% Native American, 0.51% from other races, and 4.12% 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 0.69% of the population. There were 233 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% 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, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 27.0% 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 2.50 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,658, and the median income for a family was $35,769. Males had a median income of $24,219 versus $20,938 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 $12,643. About 6.4% of families and 8.1% 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 6.8% of those under age 18 and 15.5% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

The culture of the town is widely influenced by traditions of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. Festivals and carnivals are an annual event in which people from all over the region come to take part in the events. Glencoe, located within the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

, is predominantly

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Protestant with a majority of the townspeople either following teachings that correlate to the

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

, or Nondenominational churches. Despite the differences, all congregations within the town part-take in the Ministerial Alliance, to which churches come together often to focus on the theological similarities. Glencoe was the setting for an independent film, "Left of Center," based on the book by Brandi Hodges.

Education

Glencoe is located approximately 16.7 miles from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

to which many residents hold as an alma mater or employer. Glencoe is home to a Class A school system. Glencoe High School has been given an 'A' value on the annual state report cards which are assigned by the

Oklahoma Department of Education The Oklahoma State Department of Education is the state education agency of the State of Oklahoma charged with determining the policies and directing the administration and supervision of the public school system of Oklahoma. The State Board of ...

Sports

Glencoe has strong ties to basketball, baseball and softball. Glencoe is known statewide for its local basketball program, which won the state champion title in years pasts, as well as three consecutive times in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Glencoe was also state champions in basketball in 2006 and in 2022.

Notes

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' - Glencoe
{{authority control Towns in Payne County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1900 Sundown towns in Oklahoma