Jackson 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 in the southwestern corner 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 24,785. 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 Altus. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the county was named for two historical figures: President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

and Confederate General

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

.Wilson, Linda D
"Jackson County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015. One source states that the county was named only for the former president, while an earlier source states it was named only for General Stonewall Jackson. Jackson County comprises the Altus, OK micropolitan statistical area.

History

After a dispute over the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, both the governments of the United States and the state of Texas claimed ownership of some in what was then operated as Greer County, Texas. Litigation followed, and in the case of ''United States v. State of Texas'' , 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. Greer County was then assigned to the Oklahoma Territory on May 4, 1896. When Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state (November 16, 1907), old "Greer County" was divided into Greer, Jackson, and part of Beckham counties. Altus was originally designated as the seat of Jackson County. Olustee vied in an unsuccessful bid to replace Altus as the seat in an election on July 18, 1908.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. Most of the county is within the Red Bed Plains physiographic region. The western part lies in the Gypsum Hills and the northeastern part is in the

Wichita Mountains The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-south ...

. The county is drained by the Red River and its tributaries, the North Fork of the Red River and the Salt Fork of the Red River.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 62 * U.S. Highway 283 * State Highway 5 * State Highway 6 * State Highway 34 * State Highway 19

Adjacent counties

* Greer County (north) * Kiowa County (northeast) * Tillman County (east) * Wilbarger County, Texas (south) * Hardeman County, Texas (southwest) * 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 28,439 people, 10,590 households, and 7,667 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 12,377 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.14%

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 ...

, 8.03%

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 ...

, 1.74% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.17%

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 ...

, 9.34% from other races, and 3.42% from two or more races. 15.63% 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 24,785. There were 10,590 households, out of which 38.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% 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, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.20% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,737, and the median income for a family was $38,265. Males had a median income of $28,240 versus $19,215 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 $15,454. About 13.60% of families and 16.20% 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 20.70% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

The county's economy has been based on farming and livestock since its inception. The major crops include cotton, wheat, corn, alfalfa, and hay. Barley and sorghum became major crops in the late 1940s. Livestock consisted of horses, cattle, mules, swine and sheep. Altus Air Force Base is the county's largest non-farm employer. There were 16 manufacturers in the county by 2000. These included Altus Athletic Manufacturing, the Bar-S Foods Company, and the Republic Gypsum plant. (The Luscombe Aircraft manufacturing plant, later Quartz Mountain Aerospace, went bankrupt in 2009.)

Education

The Western Oklahoma State College (WOSC) and the Southwest Technology Center, both in Altus, offer higher education opportunities in Jackson County.

Communities

City

* Altus (county seat)

Towns

* Blair * East Duke * Eldorado * Elmer *

Friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

* Headrick * Martha * Olustee

Unincorporated communities

* Creta * Hess * Humphreys *

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

Ghost towns

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

* Navajoe

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Jackson County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907