Seminole 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

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 23,556. 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 ...

Wewoka Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County. Founded by a Black Seminole, John Coheia, and Black Seminoles in January 1849, Wewoka is the c ...

. Most of the county was a reservation for the

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized b ...

which still retains jurisdiction over some land in the county. A small portion of land at the eastern end of the county belonged to the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

. Seminole County is notable for the Greater Seminole Field, one of the most important oil fields ever found, which is still producing.Bobby D. Weaver
"Greater Seminole Field,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015. It extends into nearby counties. In the early years of the

oil boom An oil boom is a period of large inflow of income as a result of high global oil prices or large oil production in an economy. Generally, this short period initially brings economic benefits, in terms of increased GDP growth, but might later lead ...

, workers and adventurers flooded into the county, rapidly tripling the population. As oil production later declined, jobs and residents left.

History

Seminole County has been an important part of the Oklahoma and United States petroleum industry for over 80 years. The Greater Seminole Field was one of the most important oil fields ever found and is still producing. Discovered one field after another in 1926, it contained an estimated of oil. To group the fields together, the oil companies decided to come up with a name, and this was suggested by Paul Hedrick, oil editor of the ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

.'' Early oil discoveries in the area were the Wewoka oil field and Cromwell oil field, both discovered in 1923. Then, on July 16, 1926, the Fixico No. 1 well reached the Wilcox sand at 4073 feet, bringing in the Seminole City Field. Located within the Greater Seminole area are 6 of Oklahoma's 22 giant oil fields, including Earlsboro, St. Louis, Seminole, Bowlegs, Little River, and Allen. Total production from the Greater Seminole area from 1926 to 1936 was 702,157,800 barrels, or 18% of all production in Oklahoma. The Maud field, discovered in 1927 by Amerada Petroleum, was the first discovery using

reflection seismology Reflection seismology (or seismic reflection) is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflection (physics), reflected seismic waves. The method requir ...

. This marked the beginning of the use of modern geophysical methods in the petroleum industry. The Seminole County Courthouse was built in 1927.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. The county is bounded on the north by 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 ...

and on the south by the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Mullins, William H
"Seminole County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015.

Adjacent counties

Okfuskee County Okfuskee County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,310. Its county seat is Okemah, Oklahoma, Okemah. The county is named for a forme ...

(northeast) * Hughes County (east) * Pontotoc County (south) * Pottawatomie 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 24,894 people, 9,575 households, and 6,788 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 11,146 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 70.74%

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 ...

, 5.59%

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 ...

, 17.39% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.74% from other races, and 5.28% from two or more races. 2.22% 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. 94.7% spoke English, 2.9% Muskogee and 1.7%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

as their first language. By 2020, its population was 23,556. There were 9,575 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% 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, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.10% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,568, and the median income for a family was $30,791. Males had a median income of $25,954 versus $18,285 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 $13,956. About 16.70% of families and 20.80% 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 28.90% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

Life expectancy and health

Of 3,142 counties in the United States in 2014, the

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a public health research institute of the University of Washington in Seattle. Its research fields are global health statistics and impact evaluation. IHME is headed by Christopher J.L. ...

ranked Seminole County 3,014 in the average life expectancy at birth of male residents and 3,108 in the life expectancy of female residents, the lowest life expectancy of Oklahoma counties, and among the lowest life expectancy for all counties. Males in Seminole County lived an average of 70.2 years and females lived an average of 75.4 years compared to the national average for life expectancy of 76.7 for males and 81.5 for females. In the 1980-2014 period, the average life expectancy in Seminole County for females declined by 0.4 years while male longevity increased by 2.7 years compared to the national average for the same period of an increased life expectancy of 4.0 years for women and 6.7 years for men. Seminole County ranked in the worst performing 10 percent of all counties. High rates of smoking and obesity for both sexes and a low level of physical activity for males appear to be contributing factors to the relatively short life expectancy. In 2020, the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

ranked Seminole country as 61st (of 77 counties in Oklahoma) in "health outcomes," as measured by length and quality of life.

Politics

Communities

Cities

* Konawa * Maud (also in Pottawatomie County) *

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

(county seat)

Towns

* Bowlegs * Cromwell *

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

* Sasakwa

Unincorporated communities

* Butner * Dixon (also a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

) * Little * Nobletown * Schoolton (part of the town of Cromwell) * Vamoosa *

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

Ghost town

* Dewright

Education

Unified school districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Bowlegs Public Schools * Butner Public Schools * Konawa Public Schools * Maud Public Schools * New Lima Public Schools * Sasakwa Public Schools * Seminole Public Schools * Strother Public Schools * Varnum Public Schools * Wewoka Public Schools There is one elementary school district: Justice Public School.

References

{{coord, 35.17, -96.61, type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990, display=title 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907 Seminole Nation of Oklahoma