Okarche, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Okarche is a town in Canadian
Canadian County, Oklahoma
Canadian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 115,541. Its county seat is El Reno. Canadian County is also part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. Canadian County is named for the Canadian River.-Geography:According to the U.S...
and Kingfisher
Kingfisher County, Oklahoma
Kingfisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 14,384. Its county seat is Kingfisher.-History:...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area
Oklahoma City metropolitan area
-Metro-area suburbs and exurbs:The following communities are suburbs and exurbs of Oklahoma City with populations of at least 1,000 found within the bounds of State Highway 33 to the north, State Highway 18 and US-177 to the east, State Highway 39 and State Highway 9 to the south, and US-81 to the...
. The population was 1,110 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
History
The Area: Okarche is located on land that, before 1830, was within the historic area of the Wichita Indians. The location was in territory assigned to the Creek and Seminole people when removal of tribes from the southeastern United States began in 1830. After the Civil War, parts of Indian Territory were designated for resettlement of Plains Indians. The site of the future town of Okarche was just inside the eastern boarder of the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation.From 1867 to 1884, cattle were driven through the area on the Chisholm Trail from Texas to railheads in Kansas. Later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, and what would become US highway 81 would follow roughly the same route through Oklahoma Territory.
The Town: On March 2, 1887, the U.S. Congress approved construction of a railroad through Indian Territory. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was given a 100 foot right of way through the territory and authorized to take additional right of way for stations every 10 miles of track. Railway assets would be turned over to the CRI&P in June of 1890. Construction proceeded southward from Caldwell, Kansas and was completed to Pond Creek by April 1889 and to El Reno in January of 1890. The railway depot where Okarche was platted would be completed at that time.
The Okarche post office was established June 28, 1890. Cheyenne and Arapaho lands were opened to settlement by land run on April 19, 1892. The town was incorporated in 1905 – two years before statehood. The name of the town is derived from parts of three words, Oklahoma (OK), Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
(AR), and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
(CHE). The Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes had been relocated to Oklahoma from the northern Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
in the late 19th century. The town's population hovered in the 400s for more than three decades after statehood and peaked in 1990 at 1,160.
By the late 1890s, German immigrants were a greater part of the population and German a widely used language of the community. Many had come to America in the wave of 1.5 million German immigrants to the United States in the 1880s and lived in states to the north such as Iowa, Nebraska, or Missouri before coming to Oklahoma Territory. Catholic and Lutheran churches with schools were established as immigrants sought to keep faith and customs from the old country alive in their new home. St. John’s Lutheran Church was founded in 1892 and Holy Trinity Catholic Church in 1893. Worship and education was conducted principally in German until American entry into World War I in 1917. Bilingual worship would continue for about two decades.
When federal highway numbering was implemented in 1927, the state road through Okarche was designated US-81 and fully paved in the Okarche area by 1931. The Northwest Highway (OK-3) was opened as a gravel-surfaced road in 1939 and fully paved by 1947. Okarche now has 4-lane divided highway access to neighboring communities, including the Oklahoma City Metro area. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad entered its final bankruptcy in 1975. The Union Pacific Railway now operates on the former Rock Island route.
Economy
The town is best known for Eischen's Bar, the oldest bar in the state of Oklahoma and famous for its secret recipe fried chicken. Food Network's program, Guys's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives voted this fried chicken the best in the state of Oklahoma.Major employers include Temtrol Inc., a manufacturer of air handling units, coils and fans; and OEM Systems, a firm specializing in custom fitting commercial vehicles and fuel conversion of vehicles to compressed natural gas.
Geography
Okarche is located at 35°43′35"N 97°58′34"W (35.726429, -97.976031).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²).None of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,110 people, 454 households, and 316 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,490.3 people per square mile (579.2/km²). There were 477 housing units at an average density of 640.4 per square mile (248.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.96% White, 0.54% African American, 1.80% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 1.62% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.
There are 2.000.000 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,750, and the median income for a family was $46,875. Males had a median income of $32,120 versus $21,810 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $20,460. About 3.0% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Notable natives and residents
- Stanley RotherStanley RotherStanley Francis Rother was a Catholic priest and missionary to Guatemala. He was murdered by a death squad, believed to be made up of right-wing extremists and elements of the Guatemalan Army, on July 28, 1981....
, Roman Catholic priest and candidate for sainthood - Chris SchroderChris SchroderChristopher Keith Schroder is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently in the Florida Marlins organization. He attended Oklahoma City University. Bob Carpenter coined him one of the 'er boys' along with Chris Booker and Ryan Wagner.-Baseball career:Always a big strikeout pitcher,...
, right-handed pitcher for the Oakland AthleticsOakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....