Wayne is a town in

McClain County, Oklahoma McClain County is a county located in south central Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,662. Its county seat is Purcell. The county was named for Charles M. McClain, an Oklahoma constitutional convention attendee.O'Dell, Lar ...

, United States. Wayne and McClain County are part of the

Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in Central Oklahoma. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Oklahoma City Metr ...

. The population was 625 at the 2020 census, down from 688 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Wayne is part of the "Heart of Oklahoma" exurban area south of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

and

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 ...

History

Wayne was named by early railroad workers from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

who adopted town names from the railways there, including Wayne, Paoli, Ardmore, and Wynnewood. The town is named for Mad

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

, a United States Army general and statesman. The town was significantly damaged by an EF2 tornado on December 13, 2022.

Geography

Wayne is located in southern McClain County at the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State Highway 59. US 77 leads north to

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

, 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 ...

, and south to Paoli, while OK 59 leads east to Byars and west to Payne.

is to the north. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Wayne has a total area of , all land. The town sits on high ground which drains north toward 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 .Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

, and south toward the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River of the South, Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geogra ...

, a tributary of the Red River.

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 714 people, 262 households, and 182 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 292 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 85.29%

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 ...

, 7.84% Native American, 0.14%

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 ...

, 2.52% from other races, and 4.20% 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 8.68% of the population. There were 262 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% 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, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.28. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,554, and the median income for a family was $27,404. Males had a median income of $26,667 versus $14,500 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 $10,485. About 18.1% of families and 24.7% 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 35.4% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The Town of Wayne Court is located in Wayne, and the Wayne Municipal Court is held monthly at the Multi-Purpose Center. The Municipal Judge is appointed by the City Council.

Education

Schools in Wayne include Wayne High School, Wayne Middle School, and Wayne Elementary School. The town also has Mid-America Technology Center, a

Vocational School A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

and

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

Notable people

Harmon Dobson Harmon Archibald Dobson (October 8, 1913 – April 11, 1967) was an American entrepreneur best known as one of the founders of the fast food chain Whataburger. Dobson was involved in the early growth of the franchise from 1950 until his death in ...

(1913–1967), co-founder of

Whataburger Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant Chain store, chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. Founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, it opened its first restaurant in Corpus Chri ...

; born in Wayne *

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

(born 1972), 28th

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

, attended first grade in Wayne, as recalled in his inaugural address on January 14, 2019.

References

External links

* {{authority control Oklahoma City metropolitan area Towns in McClain County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma