Watts is a town in northern Adair 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. It was named for John Watts, also known as Young Tassel, a

Chickamauga Cherokee The Chickamauga Cherokee is a Native American group who separated from the Cherokee from the American Revolutionary War to the early 1800s. Most of the Cherokee people signed peace treaties with the Americans in 1776-1777, after the Second Chero ...

chief, who died in 1802.Hagan, Phyllis. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Watts." Retrieved September 11, 201

/ref> The population was 324 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.5 percent over the figure of 316 recorded in 2000.CensusViewer:Watts, Oklahoma Population
/ref>

History

Watts is near the site of Fort Wayne (Indian Territory), Old Fort Wayne, which was founded in 1838. The

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

(KCS) built a line through the area in 1895-96, and in 1912, relocated its division point from

Stillwell Stillwell is an American rock band formed by Q-Unique from The Arsonists and Kings Bounty, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu from Korn, and Wuv from P.O.D. The band has released three albums and one EP. They released their third studio album, ''Supe ...

to Watts Switch, one mile north of a community called Ballard. Most of Ballard's merchants moved to the new community of Watts, along with gamblers, land speculators, construction workers and KCS employees. Frank C. Adair and Frank Howard organized the Guarantee Bank. After statehood, Adair also became the first sheriff of Adair County. Several other businesses sprang up in Watts. Hotels and rooming houses catered to the construction workers and railroad travelers. A lumberyard moved from Ballard, a hardware store and two livery stables were not far behind. At some point in these early days, three doctors opened practices in town. No doubt their patients supported the two drug stores in town. Prosperity had apparently come to Watts, because A. W. Willey opened a bakery and a man called "Cigar" Smith moved from Stilwell to manufacture cigars. The local newspaper, the ''Watts Watchman'', began publication sometime in the 1910s. A post office was established inside a store March 30, 1912. The town began to decline even before the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

took hold. KCS, like many American railroads, fell on hard times between

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During this period, KCS began dismantling its operations in Watts. It removed the roundhouse, coal chute, water pump station, icehouse, and water tower, as they were no longer needed. The depot, razed in the 1980s, was the last thing to go. Idled workers had to find work elsewhere. No census data were reported at either the time of statehood or the 1910 U.S. Census. An unofficial estimate of 300 residents was made in 1913. The first official count was 396 at the 1920 census. This declined to 353 in 1930, then reached its bottom of 267 in 1950, before rising to 326 in 1970, and going back to 303 in 1990. By 2000, Watts had only two feed mill businesses. Most of the employed residents commuted to work in other towns, especially

Siloam Springs, Arkansas Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, Benton County, Arkansas, United States, and located on the western edge of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan area, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Unite ...

, which was only north.

Geography

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. Watts is located on U.S. Highway 59 north of Westville. Nearby Ballard Creek is a tributary of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

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 316 people, 103 households, and 73 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 120 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 66.14%

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 ...

, 0.32%

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 ...

, 24.68% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 1.58% from other races, and 6.65% from two or more races. 3.16% 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. There were 103 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.35. In the town, the population was 27.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,417, and the median income for a family was $27,250. Males had a median income of $25,543 versus $18,393 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 town was $9,356. 19.7% of the population and 9.6% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 21.6% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

It is in the Watts Public Schools school district.
Text list
/ref>

Notes

References