Jay is a city and

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 Delaware 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 2,448 at the 2010 census, compared to 2,482 at the 2000 census, a decrease of 1.4 percent. Almost 40% of its residents are Native American, thus Jay is home to numerous Cherokee tribal offices and a health clinic for the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation. Jay has a council-manager system of government. Becki Farley is the mayor with Kyle Stump serving as Vice Mayor. The city is celebrated as the Huckleberry Capital of the World and has been host to the annual

Huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...

Festival each July 4 weekend since 1967.Dale Denney, "Jay." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Retrieved July 27, 2012.

History

Jay was named for Jay Washbourne, a nephew of Stand Watie and grandson of an early-day

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 ...

missionary. The town is the

of Delaware County, having won that distinction from

Grove, Oklahoma Grove is a city in Delaware County, Oklahoma, Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,623 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, an increase of 27.6 percent over the figure of 5,131 recorded in 2000. Grove Oklaho ...

in a special county seat election on December 8, 1908. The 1910–11 Legislature made Grove a County Court Town, and provided for two court terms each year. On June 27, 1911, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled in favor of Jay, and on January 5, 1912, the County Commissioners ordered the records to be moved to Jay. Rose Stauber, "Delaware County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Retrieved July 18, 2012. On May 10, 1913, the courthouse in Jay was burned, destroying most of the county records. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

was established May 19, 1909. Jay incorporated in 1939.

Geography

Jay is located in the oak and hickory forests of the Ozark Plateau. 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 , all land. The Cherokee name for Jay is Dlaygvi (Bluejay Place). Jay is at the intersection of U.S. Route 59 and Oklahoma State Highway 20, southeast of Grand Lake of the Cherokees and northeast of Lake Eucha. Jay is atypical in Oklahoma history because the townsite and layout were located and platted specifically for its purpose as a county seat. It is not located on a river, major road or railway line as were most Oklahoma towns of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Around 1908, the Delaware County Improvement Association hired a survey team to pinpoint the exact location of the center of the county. They pinpointed allotment land belonging to Thomas Oochaleta, a full-blood Cherokee. Since acquiring title to a full-blood's allotment would require a lengthy federal legal procedure, the committee shifted their attention to the allotment adjoining Oochaleta's on the east, a parcel belonging to committee member Claude L. "Jay" Washbourne. As a mixed-blood Cherokee, Washbourne was exempt from the federal policy restricting the sale or transfer of his land. He gave ten acres on which to construct a town. The town was designed, reserving a central block for a courthouse. The committee quickly constructed a frame building and then applied to the U.S. Postal Service for a post office, submitting the required three town names for consideration. The names submitted were "Center," "Jay," and "Washbourne." Postal authorities chose Jay for its brevity.

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 2,482 people, 954 households, and 609 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,051 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 54.43%

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 ...

, 0.56%

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 ...

, 36.50% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 1.89% from other races, and 6.57% 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 3.55% of the population. There were 955 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% 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, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,875, and the median income for a family was $25,592. Males had a median income of $20,212 versus $17,039 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 city was $10,700. About 21.4% of families and 25.9% 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 35.1% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Jay Public Schools school district.
Text list
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Notable people

* Linda Hughes O'Leary, Cherokee politician *

Tommy Morrison Tommy Morrison (January 2, 1969 – September 1, 2013) was an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competed from 1988 to 2009. Best known for his left hook (boxing), hook and formidable punching power, Morrison won the World ...

, former world

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champion * Ty Powell, former NFL

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

* Buzz Wetzel, baseball player * Jessy Grizzle, robotics engineer

References

External links

Jay Chamber Of Commerce

Jay Public Schools

Jay America Radio Network, an online radio station for Jay, America!
{{authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Delaware County, Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Cherokee towns in Oklahoma