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Guymon ( ) is a city in and the
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 ...
of Texas County, in the panhandle 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 ...
, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 12,965, an increase of 13.3% from 11,442 in 2010, and represents more than half of the population of the county, along with being the largest city in the Oklahoma Panhandle.Larry O'Dell, "Guymon," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed August 4, 2015
Cattle feedlots, corporate pork farms, and natural gas production dominate its economy, with wind energy production and transmission recently diversifying landowners' farms. Guymon was the only town or city in Oklahoma in 2010 and 2020 in which the majority of the population was
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 ...
.


History

In the 1890s, Edward T. "E.T." Guymon, president of the Inter-State Land and Town Company, purchased a section of land west of the Beaver River, also known as the
North Canadian River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering Nor ...
. The site grew very rapidly after the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (Rock Island) built a line from
Liberal, Kansas Liberal is a city in and the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of 2024, the population of the city was 18,743. It is located in southwestern Kansas, along U.S. Route 54 highway, near the Kansas-Oklahoma state line. Lib ...
, to Texhoma, Texas, in 1901. A community, first named Sanford by the U.S. Post Office Department, was situated along the line. It was renamed Guymon a month later by postal officials to avoid confusion with the town of Stratford, Texas, which was further down the line. Guymon incorporated in 1901. The town
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
was filed in Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory, in 1904. Guymon's growth was helped when most of the businesses moved there from the nearby town of Hardesty. One of these was the newspaper, ''Hardesty Herald'', which owner Richard B. Quinn quickly renamed as the ''Guymon Herald''. When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Guymon claimed 839 residents, and was named county seat of the newly created Texas County. By the 1910 U.S. census, the town had 1,342 residents. It also had three banks, three hotels, four doctors, a flour mill, a grain company, and several retail establishments. A second newspaper, the ''Guymon Democrat'', was in business. Agriculture became the basis of Guymon's economy. The 1920 census recorded 1,507 residents, which grew to 2,181 in 1930. By 1932, the town had two cream stations and five grain elevators. 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 ...
and the
Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...
of the 1930s had a negative effect on Guymon. Some old-time residents remember " Black Sunday", April 14, 1935, as the day of the worst dust storm in the area's history. However, discovery of the nearby Hugoton-Panhandle gas field created many new jobs, and brought Guymon's population to 2,290 in 1940. The Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo has offered tributes to the community's pioneer spirit every May since 1933. In 2014, the rodeo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame of the
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the N ...
. In 2006, the rodeo had over 900 contestants with over $385,000 in prize money.


Geography

Located on the High Plains of the central Oklahoma Panhandle, Guymon sits north of
Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...
, and west-northwest of Woodward.
Optima National Wildlife Refuge Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) an ...
, Optima Lake, and the state-run Optima Wildlife Management Area lie roughly to the east along the
North Canadian River The North Canadian River is a river, long, in Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Canadian River, draining an area of U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset/Watershed Boundary Dataset, area data covering Nor ...
. Guymon sits at an elevation of . 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 city has a total area of , of which are land and (0.27%) is covered by water.


Climate

Guymon has a semi-arid
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...
climate with hot summers and cool winters. BSk is the
Köppen Classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
of the climate.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 12,965 people and 3,453 households residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,941 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city as of 2020 was 58.1% Hispanic, 29.3% non-Hispanic White, 3.6% Black, 5.6% Asian, 4.7% of two or more races, and 0.1% Native American. There were 3,453 households; the average household size was 3.28 persons. As of 2010, 39.8% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18 and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. 45.2% of the city's 2020 population was female. The median income for a household in the city was $53,164. 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 city was $19,455. About 24.6% of the population was 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 ...
, increasing from 14.3% in 2010. In the 2010 census, Guymon had the fourth largest Hispanic population among cities in the state, trailing only Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton. In terms of percentages, the Hispanic population of Guymon comprised 52 percent of the population, the highest percentage of Hispanic residents of any city or town in Oklahoma. In 2022 the Hispanic population had increased to 57 percent of the population of Guymon. Guymon has been cited as an example of how immigration can save rural communities, most of which in Oklahoma and many other states have been losing population for decades.


Economy

Guymon is a hub for the local economy, which includes
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
farming,
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
, hog and
dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...
farming, manufacturing, and oil and natural gas production. A United States soil conservation station is located nearby. Local manufacturers produce agricultural tillage tools, pressure tanks, and formula feeds. The town of Goodwell, Oklahoma, home of
Oklahoma Panhandle State University Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU, informally Panhandle State or simply Panhandle) is a public college in Goodwell, Oklahoma. OPSU is a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. General governance of the institution is provided by the ...
, lies to the southwest of Guymon. Opening of the Hugoton-Panhandle Gas Field led to the establishment of two
carbon black Carbon black (with subtypes acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid cataly ...
plants, the Dandee Manufacturing Company (makers of farming equipment), an ice plant, the OK Welding Manufacturing Company, a feed mill, the Phillips Petroleum cracking plant, and the Southwestern Public Service Company generating plant. The Guymon Municipal Hospital (later renamed Memorial Hospital of Texas County) opened in 1949. The city's largest employer, Seaboard
pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
processing plant, operates at double shift capacity and processes about 18,000 hogs each day, and its 2,300 employees make up about 20% of the entire city's population. Hitch Ranch, which began opening cattle feedlots during the 1960s, is the city's second-largest employer. A Swift and Company packing plant is located near Hitch Ranch. The City of Guymon, the Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, and the hospital round out the list of top employers. The employment opportunities created by these industries, especially of the Seaboard company, has led to an influx of Hispanics and recent immigrants to the U.S. which accounts for the population growth of Guymon and the surrounding area while most of Oklahoma's small cities and rural communities are losing population. A movement to harness wind power for electricity generation began a large-scale boom in the Guymon area in 2011. The DeWind Company had two 40-megawatt projects online (near Goodwell) in 2012, joined by a 200-megawatt project in 2015."Oklahoma Wind Energy Projects." Kansas Energy Information Network.
Accessed August 4, 2015.


Government

Guymon has a council-manager form of government. Mitch Wagner was the city manager as of February 2018.


Education

Guymon residents are served by the Guymon School District. The school system was begun in 1902–3. The first high school building was built in 1917. Guymon schools were closed for one year during the Great Depression because funds were insufficient to keep them operating. The school district opened a new high school in 1954. This was replaced with a new facility in 1974. The city has eight elementary schools, one junior high school, and one high school, whose team mascot is the Tiger. ;High school * Guymon High School ;Middle school * Guymon Junior High School ;Elementary schools * Academy * Academy "C" * Carrier * Homer Long * Northeast * North Park * Prairie More than 80% of high school students qualify for a reduced-price school lunch, a common proxy for poverty. About 30% of residents lack a high school diploma; the city has the lowest educational level in the state. Guymon High School lags behind the state average in several measures.


Media

Guymon has one newspaper and four radio stations, although one is a
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
. * ''Guymon Herald'', printed since 1891, is the only daily newspaper for the entire Oklahoma Panhandle. * KKBS 92.7 FM -
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
* KBIJ 99.5 FM -
Regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...
* KGYN 1210 AM - News and Sports Talk * K215CV 90.9 FM - Christian Contemporary (
Air1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History On July 15, ...
)


Recreation

* Golden Mesa Casino is 2 1/2 mi west on US Hwy 54. *Sunset Hills golf course – an 18-hole par-71 municipal course - is open to members and guests in Guymon. * Sunset Lake and Thompson Park – a 32-acre stocked municipal lake - is open to fishing year-round, with paddle boats, an operating miniature train, ducks to be fed, playground equipment for children, picnic tables, and covered pavilions. * No Mans Land Rifle and Pistol Club – a 50-station handgun and rimfire rifle range - is open to members of the club, located near Sunset Lake and Thompson Park, and open for use during daylight hours. *Nearby
Optima National Wildlife Refuge Located in the middle of the Oklahoma panhandle, the Optima National Wildlife Refuge is made up of grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) an ...
offers bird and wildlife viewing opportunities, and the Optima Wildlife Management Area, run by the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Co ...
, offers hunting opportunities.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Guymon is served by US-54, US-64, US-412, SH-3, and SH-136, some of said roads being partially concurrent or completely concurrent with others through Guymon. Guymon Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
located two nautical miles (3.7 km) west of the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of Guymon. Commercial air transport is available out of Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport in Kansas, about 41 miles northeast of town. Rail freight service is available from the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
.


Notable people

* Jeremy Sochan (b. 2003) - Basketball player for the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
, was born in Guymon but relocated to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
as an infant. * Michael D. Brown (b. 1954) – former FEMA director was born in Guymon in 1955. * Claudia Bryar (1918–2011) - film and television actress, was born in Guymon. * F. Hiner Dale (1881–1968) – Judge and founder of Guymon law firm of Wright, Dale, and Jett * Gordon Grice (b. 1965) – award-winning nature writer, was born in Guymon. * Ross Rizley (1892–1969) - former U.S. Representative, is buried in Guymon. *
Sammi Smith Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith (August 5, 1943 – February 12, 2005) was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 crossover hit " Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. Sh ...
(1943–2005) - country music star - born Jewel Faye Smith


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas County, Oklahoma __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas County, Oklahoma. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas County, Oklahoma, United St ...


References


External links


City of Guymon

Guymon Daily Herald

Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo



''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' – Guymon
{{Authority control Cities in Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Cities in Texas County, Oklahoma Micropolitan areas of Oklahoma Populated places established in 1901 Oklahoma Panhandle 1901 establishments in Oklahoma Territory