Porum is a town in

Muskogee County, Oklahoma Muskogee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,339. The county seat is Muskogee. The county and city were named for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veteran, and

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

councilman from the Canadian District in Indian Territory. The community was first known as Porum Gap, which united with another village named Starvilla in 1905. The product of this union became the present town of Porum. The population was 727 at the 2010 census, an increase of 0.3 percent from the figure of 725 recorded in 2000.Ellen Collins Johnson, "Porum," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed May 2, 2015.

History

The area is rich in history, including that of the Starr clan who were of the Cherokee "Treaty faction" and became immersed in troubles during the early turbulent days of the

. They were attacked by, and counterattacked, men of the Ross faction. Tom Starr was alleged to have killed 100 men in his time, although the figure may be exaggerated. Tom was a half-blood, Irish and Cherokee, and had five sons, one of whom was Sam who became the husband of

Belle Starr Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr (February 5, 1848 – February 3, 1889), better known as Belle Starr, was an American outlaw who gained national notoriety after her violent death. She associated with the James–Younger Gang and other outlaws. ...

, forever linked with the history of Porum. In later years, Pony Starr who lived on the edge of Porum was involved in the Porum Range War and was regarded as the straightest shot and most fearless man of his clan. A post office was established in Porum Gap March 25, 1890. The

Midland Valley Railroad The Midland Valley Railroad (MV) was a railroad company incorporated on June 4, 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hope, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. It was backed by C. Jared Ingersoll, a Philadelp ...

came to the Porum area in 1903. The town of Porum was formed in 1905, following the merger of Porum Gap and Starvilla.

Geography

Porum is located approximately south of Muskogee, the county seat. 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 , of which is land and (2.56%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 725 people, 301 households, and 202 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 341 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 61.79%

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 ...

, 1.52%

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 ...

, 28.83% Native American, 0.14% from other races, and 7.72% 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 0.83% of the population. There were 301 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $18,009, and the median income for a family was $19,474. Males had a median income of $25,357 versus $18,333 for females. The ''per capita'' income for the town was $9,147. About 35.3% of families and 41.3% 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 51.0% of those under age 18 and 33.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Populated places within the Cherokee Nation reservation