Oktaha is a town in Muskogee 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.

History

Oktaha was named for a

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

chief, Oktarharsars HarjoWallace F. Waits, Jr., "Oktaha," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed May 2, 2015. (also known as Sands). The town originated in 1872 as a stop on the MK&T "Katy" Railroad. By 1900, the town had its own post office; a small business district emerged as well. Local business lagged, however, by mid-century, and the town struggled even more when

U.S. Highway 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway in the central United States. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's ...

was rerouted to bypass Oktaha. Nevertheless, Oktaha remains the site of a K-12 school that draws several hundred students from rural portions of Muskogee County.

Geography

Oktaha is located south-southwest of Muskogee. 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.

Census

The population was 343 at the time of the 2020 Census.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 327 people, 110 households, and 91 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 70.95%

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 ...

, 3.36%

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 ...

, 16.82% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 7.95% 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 0.31% of the population. There were 110 households, out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.25. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,844, and the median income for a family was $30,556. Males had a median income of $23,958 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,174. About 18.5% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* The noted Native American sculptor Willard Stone was born in Oktaha in 1916.David C. Hunt
"Stone, Willard"
at

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

br>''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
(retrieved March 20, 2009).

Footnotes

{{authority control Towns in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Muscogee (Creek) Nation 1872 establishments in Indian Territory