Greer County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located along the southwest border of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,491. 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 Mangum. From 1860 to 1896, the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

claimed an area known as Greer County, Texas, which included present-day Greer County along with neighboring areas. In 1896 it was designated as a county in Oklahoma Territory under a ruling by the US Supreme Court. The rural Greer County is home to Quartz Mountain State Park, near the community of Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. It is also home to the Oklahoma State Reformatory, located in

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. Its population has declined since 1930 due to changes in agriculture and migration to cities for work.

History

After a dispute over the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty and the related 1828 Treaty of Limits, the governments of both the United States and the state of Texas claimed ownership of some in what was then operated as Greer County, Texas. The county was named for former Texas lieutenant governor, John A. Greer.Wilson, Linda D. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Greer County.
Retrieved March 5, 2015. Litigation followed, and in the case of ''United States v. State of Texas'' , with a ruling issued on March 16, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, having original jurisdiction over the case, decided in favor of the United States. The county was assigned to the Oklahoma Territory on May 4, 1896. When Oklahoma was admitted as a state, Greer County was established according to its current boundaries; the remaining former county area was organized as Harmon, Jackson, and part of Beckham counties. The town of Mangum, designated as the county seat in 1886 when it was part of Texas, continued as the seat of Greer County, Oklahoma. From its establishment until at least 1903, Greer County was a sundown county, prohibiting African Americans from living in the county. Originally developed for agriculture, the rural county had its peak of population in 1930. Mechanization of agriculture reduced the need for farm labor, and the population has declined as people migrated to cities for work. Among the county attractions is Quartz Mountain State Park (known from 2002 to 2020 as Quartz Mountain Nature Park), near the community of Lone Wolf.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. Western Greer County lies in the Gypsum Hills, while the eastern one-third is in the Red Bed Plains physiographic region. The county is drained by the North Fork Red River, Elm Fork Red River, and Salt Fork Red River.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 283 * State Highway 6 * State Highway 9 * State Highway 34 * State Highway 44

Adjacent counties

* Beckham County (north) * Kiowa County (east) * Jackson County (south) * Harmon County (west)

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 6,061 people, 2,237 households, and 1,442 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 2,788 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 81.46%

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 ...

, 8.78%

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 ...

, 2.47% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 3.99% from other races, and 3.02% from two or more races. 7.44% 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. There were 2,237 households, out of which 25.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% were non-families. 33.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.00% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 123.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,793, and the median income for a family was $30,702. Males had a median income of $24,318 versus $18,641 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 $14,053. About 15.00% of families and 19.60% 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 28.40% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

The county's economy has been based on farming and raising livestock. In 1907, the main crops were cotton, corn, oats, wheat and alfalfa. Livestock raised includes cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep and goats. The Oklahoma State Reformatory is located in

in the county and provides some jobs.

Communities

Cities

* Mangum (county seat)

Towns

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Unincorporated communities

* Brinkman * Reed

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Blair Public Schools * Duke Public Schools * Erick Public Schools * Granite Public Schools * Hollis Public Schools * Lone Wolf Public Schools * Mangum Public Schools * Merritt Public Schools * Navajo Public Schools * Sayre Public Schools

Notable people

* Edward Everett Dale (1879–1972), historian; professor at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

* William T. Ponder (1891–1947), World War I flying ace * Victor E. Wickersham (1906–1988), U.S. politician; member of the U.S. House of Representatives

References

External links

Mangum Main Street

Greer County Chamber of Commerce

Old Greer County Museum & Hall of Fame

Greer County Extension Service

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Greer County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control 1896 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Populated places established in 1896 Sundown towns in Oklahoma