Goltry is an incorporated

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

small town in Alfalfa 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 249 at the 2010 census. Located there are a town hall, a post office, a farmer's co-op with gas service, a fire department, and a bank, with several blocks of homes.

History

Originally part of the

Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a parcel of land south of the Oklahoma–Kansas border between 96th meridian west, 96 and 100th meridian west, 100°W. The Che ...

, the area of present-day Goltry was not open to non-Indian settlement until September 1893. After the opening, a settlement called Karoma emerged on the John Streich farm, approximately one and one-half miles southeast of present Goltry. The Arkansas Valley and Western Railway (later part of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, or Frisco, system) constructed a line in 1904 from east to west apart the former Woods County that became present-day Alfalfa County, after the creation of the latter 1907. The people of Karoma moved most of their homes and businesses closer to the railroad. In 1904, John Linden’s townsite company surveyed and platted the town on 240 acres. The new community was incorporated and named for Enid resident Charles Goltry, who owned the land and whose milling company constructed a grain elevator there. Many of the early settlers were Germans from Russia, in addition to a number from the then German state of

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and from

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. At one time, Goltry was home to two German

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

churches. The remaining Mennonite church, the ''Pleasant View Church of God in Christ Mennonite'', was organized in 1905, by settlers who began to arrive in 1900. As late as 2000, one-third of the town's residents claimed German ancestry. Goltry is also the birthplace of Wally Parks (1913-2007), the founder of the

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.NHRA.com

Geography

Situated in far southeastern Alfalfa County, Goltry lies along State Highway 45. Goltry lies midway between the county seat of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, and the nearest city, Enid, via the aforementioned State Highway 45. 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.

Demographics

2000 census

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 268 people, 120 households, and 72 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 146 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 92.54%

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 ...

, 4.10% Native American, and 3.36% from two or more races. There were 120 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,000, and the median income for a family was $31,979. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $16,696 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 $12,182. About 13.8% of families and 18.1% 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 23.3% of those under the age of 18 and 14.5% of those 65 or over.

Education

Goltry shares the Timberlake school district with the nearby towns of Helena, Jet, and Nash.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Goltry
{{authority control Towns in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma