Waurika is the

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 Jefferson 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 1,837 as of the 2020 United States census. An article from 1985 in ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'' claimed that Waurika promoted itself as "The Parakeet Capital of the World," while giving no explanation for using this slogan. The Waurika Chamber of Commerce website in 2020 echoed that the town was "once a parakeet paradise," but currently seems to be promoting the motto ''On The

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

, By The Lake'', complete with a logo of a cowboy bronc-riding a fish.

City name

The name is the anglicized version of the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

compound ''woarɨhka'' ("worm eater") from ''woa'' ("worm") + ''tɨhka'' ("eat") and presumably refers to early European settlers whose plowing humorously resembled digging for worms. Without indicating the source of their opinions, the City of Waurika and the Oklahoma Historical Society say the name means "clear (or pure) water" in some unidentified "American Indian language". This is an example of the widespread occurrence of fanciful false etymologies of Native American place names, especially when the original Native language meaning is simple, insulting, vulgar, or unknown.

History

Waurika was settled after the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Reservation was opened to non-Indians on August 6, 1901. The first white settler was James McGraw, who homesteaded on the present town site after moving from

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

.Sheridan B. Drowatzky, "Waurika," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
2009. Accessed March 27, 2015. The first sale of town lots was held on June 18, 1902. Nearly three thousand people attended the sale. Waurika was incorporated in May 1903. On May 8 of that year, C.A. McBrian was sworn in as the town's first mayor. At the time of its founding, Waurika was located in

Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation Pickens County was a political subdivision of the Chickasaw Nation in the Indian Territory from 1855, prior to Oklahoma being admitted as a state in 1907. The county was one of four that comprised the Chickasaw Nation. Following statehood, its ter ...

. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway came to Waurika in January 1902 after the railroad superintendent "designated the town as a flag station." Waurika was formerly the northern terminus for the Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Railway, one of the 20th century properties of Frank Kell and Joseph A. Kemp of

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

, where the Kell House Museum is located today.

Geography

Waurika is located in northwestern Jefferson County. U.S. Route 70 passes through the southern side of the city, leading east to Ardmore and west to Randlett. U.S. Route 81 crosses US 70 in the southeastern corner of Waurika, leading north to Duncan and south to Ringgold.

Oklahoma State Highway 5 State Highway 5 (SH-5 or OK-5) is the name assigned to two distinct state highways in the United States, U.S state of Oklahoma. One runs for through extreme southwestern Oklahoma, passing through Harmon County, Oklahoma, Harmon and Jackson Co ...

(Waurika's Main Street) leads northwest to

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. Waurika is approximately southwest of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. 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 ...

, Waurika has a total area of , of which , or 0.08%, are water. The city center lies on the east side of the valley of Beaver Creek, a south-flowing tributary of the Red River. Waurika Lake is northwest of the city center.

Climate

Economy

Waurika's economy has largely been based on cattle raising, agriculture and petroleum production since the founding of the city.

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 1,988 people, 741 households, and 500 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 929 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.41%

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 ...

, 1.81%

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 ...

, 4.28% Native American, 3.37% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 2.36% from other races, and 2.67% 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 8.00% of the population. There were 741 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,800, and the median income for a family was $31,594. Males had a median income of $24,844 versus $16,286 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 $13,496. About 6.4% of families and 12.2% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Waurika has a home rule charter form of government.

Notable people

* Bennie G. Adkins, United States Army

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient born in Waurika * Irene Champlin, actress born in Waurika * Gary Chapman, singer and songwriter born in Waurika * Ed Davis, Depression-era criminal born in Waurika * Chris Kidd, Oklahoma state senator (2016–2024) * James W. McCord Jr., CIA officer implicated in the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

born in Waurika

Places

The town's Rock Island Passenger Depot was rehabilitated starting in 1987, and in 2002 was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Oklahoma. Also NHRP-listed are the First Presbyterian Church, the Jefferson County Courthouse, and the State Highway 79 Bridge at the Red River leading to Byers, Texas, which has since been demolished. There was a Chisholm Trail Historical Museum in Waurika, now closed. Waurika Lake, completed in 1980, is 11 miles long, contains 192,000 acre feet of water at its normal elevation of 951 feet, has a surface area of 10,000 acres, and features 80 miles of shoreline.

Notable events

The 1996 murder of Heather Rich brought brief notoriety to Waurika. Rich, a 16-year-old

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

at the local high school, was murdered by two classmates and an acquaintance in a case that attracted national media coverage.

References

External links

{{authority control 1902 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Cities in Jefferson County, Oklahoma County seats in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1902