Walters, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Walters is a city in Cotton County
, Oklahoma
, United States
. The population was 2,657 at the 2000 census
. The city, nestled in between twin creeks, is the county seat
of Cotton County
. The city's motto is "Small town; Big heart".
11500 BCE
, Folsom
10600 BCE and Plainview
10000 BCE cultures. Western explorers came to the region in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
visiting in 1541. Most of the region during this time was settled by the Wichita and Caddo
people. Around the 1700s, two tribes from the North, the Comanches and Kiowas, migrated to the Oklahoma and Texas region.
For most of the 18th century, the Oklahoma region was under French control as Louisiana
. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase
by Thomas Jefferson
brought the area under United States control. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act
, which removed American Indian tribes and relocated them to Indian Territory
. The southern part of the territory was originally assigned to the Choctaw
and Chickasaw
until 1867 when the Medicine Lodge Treaty
allotted the southwest portion of the Choctaw and Chickasaw’s lands to the Comanche
, Kiowa
, and Apache
The City of Walters was organized on August 6, 1901 under the original name of McKnight, Indian Territory. Application for a post office was made, and it was determined that a town in Harmon County had already taken the name of McKnight. This required that the name be changed. The name of Walters was chosen, in honor of W. R. Walter, but the "s" was not included on the post office application, so the post office was named Walter.
The city finally grew large enough to meet the requirements for a government patent, and one was granted in June 1904. On August 12, 1912, an election was held to form a new County (Cotton) from a portion of Comanche County. The election was successful and Cotton County was formed as the last county in Oklahoma on August 28, 1912. Shortly thereafter, another election was held to determine if Walters or Temple would become the county seat, on December 2, 1912, Walters won by 282 votes to officially become the county seat of the Cotton County. The names of Walter and Walters were used interchangeably and confusingly until in June of 1917 when an application was made to Congress to officially change the post office name to Walters.
which are located to the east. Monsoon
-like rains are common in the spring months, while periods of drought can occur throughout other parts of the year. The city is situated between two tributaries of the Red River, the East and West Cache Creek. The bottom lands around the creeks are thickly surrounded by Burr oak
, Pecan
, Shumard oak
, Eastern Redbud
, and American Elm
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²), of which, 8.1 square miles (21 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (2.75%) is water.
Walters is located at 34.356353°N 98.315773°W.
of 2000, there were 2,657 people, 1,063 households, and 721 families residing in the city. The population density
was 326.6 people per square mile (126.2/km2). There were 1,256 housing units at an average density of 154.4 per square mile (59.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.38% White, 0.38% African American, 10.24% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 1.02% from other races
, and 3.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.42% of the population.
There were 1,063 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,771, and the median income for a family was $31,532. Males had a median income of $27,578 versus $18,669 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,398. About 15.9% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.
Expo Art Fest (Previously Gallery on the Green)- A annual art show that showcases the artistic talent of the people of Walters and surrounding areas.
Car Cruz
Van Heflin
( Early Hollywood actor)
Doyle Parrack
(Basketball National Champion,NBA player, renowned basketball coach)
Oliver Willham (President of Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
, 1952-66).
Jed Johnson (Oklahoma) (Politician)
Fred R. Harris
(U.S Senator)
Pepper Martin
(American professional baseball player)
Abe Lemons
(Basketball Coach)
Cotton County, Oklahoma
Cotton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 6,614. Its county seat is Walters.When Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907, the area which is now Cotton County fell within the boundaries of Comanche County...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 2,657 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...
. The city, nestled in between twin creeks, is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Cotton County
Cotton County, Oklahoma
Cotton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 6,614. Its county seat is Walters.When Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907, the area which is now Cotton County fell within the boundaries of Comanche County...
. The city's motto is "Small town; Big heart".
History
The land that is present day Oklahoma was first settled by prehistoric American Indians including the ClovisClovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
11500 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, Folsom
Folsom tradition
The Folsom Complex is a name given by archaeologists to a specific Paleo-Indian archaeological culture that occupied much of central North America...
10600 BCE and Plainview
Plano cultures
The Plano cultures is a name given by archaeologists to a group of disparate hunter-gatherer communities that occupied the Great Plains area of North America during the Paleo-Indian period in the United States and the Paleo-Indian or Archaic period in Canada....
10000 BCE cultures. Western explorers came to the region in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
visiting in 1541. Most of the region during this time was settled by the Wichita and Caddo
Caddo
The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
people. Around the 1700s, two tribes from the North, the Comanches and Kiowas, migrated to the Oklahoma and Texas region.
For most of the 18th century, the Oklahoma region was under French control as Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
brought the area under United States control. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
, which removed American Indian tribes and relocated them to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. The southern part of the territory was originally assigned to the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
until 1867 when the Medicine Lodge Treaty
Medicine Lodge Treaty
The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed between the United States government and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory and away from European-American...
allotted the southwest portion of the Choctaw and Chickasaw’s lands to the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
, Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
, and Apache
Fort Sill Apache Tribe
The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is the federally recognized Native American tribe of Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache in Oklahoma.-History:The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is composed of Chiricahua Apache. The Apache are southern Athabaskan-speaking peoples who migrated many centuries ago from the subarctic to...
The City of Walters was organized on August 6, 1901 under the original name of McKnight, Indian Territory. Application for a post office was made, and it was determined that a town in Harmon County had already taken the name of McKnight. This required that the name be changed. The name of Walters was chosen, in honor of W. R. Walter, but the "s" was not included on the post office application, so the post office was named Walter.
The city finally grew large enough to meet the requirements for a government patent, and one was granted in June 1904. On August 12, 1912, an election was held to form a new County (Cotton) from a portion of Comanche County. The election was successful and Cotton County was formed as the last county in Oklahoma on August 28, 1912. Shortly thereafter, another election was held to determine if Walters or Temple would become the county seat, on December 2, 1912, Walters won by 282 votes to officially become the county seat of the Cotton County. The names of Walter and Walters were used interchangeably and confusingly until in June of 1917 when an application was made to Congress to officially change the post office name to Walters.
Geography
Consisting of mainly flat grassland and rolling hills, the city lies on the cusp of the Cross TimbersCross Timbers
The term Cross Timbers is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas...
which are located to the east. Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
-like rains are common in the spring months, while periods of drought can occur throughout other parts of the year. The city is situated between two tributaries of the Red River, the East and West Cache Creek. The bottom lands around the creeks are thickly surrounded by Burr oak
Burr Oak
Burr Oak is a variant spelling of Bur oak . The term can refer to some places in the United States:*Burr Oak, Indiana*Burr Oak, Iowa*Burr Oak, Kansas*Burr Oak, Michigan*Burr Oak Township, Michigan*Burr Oak, Missouri...
, Pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
, Shumard oak
Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii, the Shumard Oak, Spotted Oak, Schneck Oak, Shumard Red Oak, or Swamp Red Oak, is one of the largest of the oak species in the red oak group...
, Eastern Redbud
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis L. is a large shrub or small tree native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida, United States....
, and American Elm
American Elm
Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can...
.
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 city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²), of which, 8.1 square miles (21 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (2.75%) is water.
Walters is located at 34.356353°N 98.315773°W.
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 2,657 people, 1,063 households, and 721 families residing in the city. 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 326.6 people per square mile (126.2/km2). There were 1,256 housing units at an average density of 154.4 per square mile (59.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.38% White, 0.38% African American, 10.24% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 1.02% 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 3.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.42% of the population.
There were 1,063 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,771, and the median income for a family was $31,532. Males had a median income of $27,578 versus $18,669 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 city was $14,398. About 15.9% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.
Spring
Expo Art Fest (Previously Gallery on the Green)- A annual art show that showcases the artistic talent of the people of Walters and surrounding areas.
Car Cruz
Notable Residents
A number of well-known people hail from or resided in the Walters area.Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
( Early Hollywood actor)
Doyle Parrack
Doyle Parrack
Doyle Parrack was an American basketball player and coach.Parrck was born in Cotton County, Oklahoma, and played basketball at Oklahoma A&M University, where he won an NCAA Championship in 1945. He played one season of professional for the Chicago Stags of the NBA, then became a coach at Oklahoma...
(Basketball National Champion,NBA player, renowned basketball coach)
Oliver Willham (President of Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...
, 1952-66).
Jed Johnson (Oklahoma) (Politician)
Fred R. Harris
Fred R. Harris
Fred Roy Harris is a former Democratic United States Senator from the state of Oklahoma. He served from 1964 until 1973.-Biography:...
(U.S Senator)
Pepper Martin
Pepper Martin
Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the Wild Horse of the Osage because of his daring, aggressive baserunning abilities. Martin played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman and an outfielder for the St...
(American professional baseball player)
Abe Lemons
Abe Lemons
Abe Lemons was one of the most successful head basketball coaches in Oklahoma history.Lemons grew up in the town of Walters, Oklahoma. He served in World War II in the Pacific and often referred to the pressures of his war experience to put sports pressures into perspective...
(Basketball Coach)