Foraker, Oklahoma
Foraker, Oklahoma | ||
---|---|---|
FIPS code 40-26750[3] | | |
GNIS feature ID | 2412635[2] |
Foraker is a town in
Foraker was listed as a ghost town in the 1977 book Ghost Towns of Oklahoma. The author, John Wesley Morris, quoted one long-time resident as saying: "Stores gone, post office gone, train gone, school gone, oil gone, boys and girls gone – only thing not gone is graveyard and it git bigger."[6]
History
Located in an area of rolling plains and tallgrass prairie, a post office was established at Foraker on February 13, 1903. The town began as a 160-acre tract platted by the U.S. Department of the Interior along the Midland Valley Railroad in 1905.[7] By 1909, the town had a population of 500 as the area underwent a ranching and farming boom. Foraker had the amenities associated with older communities: sidewalks, a public park, and plans for an electric and water system and a substantial school building.[8]
The agriculture boom subsided, but the town was briefly revitalized by discovery of the Burbank Oil Field in 1920, which made Foraker an oil industry equipment supply center. In 1922 the Osage Railway, one of the Muskogee Roads, was opened from Foraker to Shidler, ten miles away, making Foraker an oil shipping point. The population rose to about 2,000 in the early 1920s.[9] The Osage County oil boom declined during the Great Depression, and with it Foraker's fortunes. The population dropped. The Osage Valley railroad was abandoned in 1953 and the Midland Valley Railroad was abandoned in 1968. The town business district fell vacant. Foraker is now in a region dominated by large cattle ranches. A lonely and picturesque old cemetery in the prairie approximately one mile east of what remains of the town is the chief landmark. The nearest post office is at Shidler.[4]
Geography
Foraker is 13 miles (21 km) north and 12 miles (19 km) west of Pawhuska and 6 miles (9.7 km) north and 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Shidler.[6]
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1910 | 415 | — | |
1920 | 394 | −5.1% | |
1930 | 310 | −21.3% | |
1940 | 222 | −28.4% | |
1950 | 105 | −52.7% | |
1960 | 74 | −29.5% | |
1970 | 52 | −29.7% | |
1980 | 34 | −34.6% | |
1990 | 25 | −26.5% | |
2000 | 23 | −8.0% | |
2010 | 19 | −17.4% | |
2020 | 18 | −5.3% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[10] |
As of the
There were 10 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, and 40.0% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 13.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $63,333. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $18,750 for females. The
Education
It is in Shidler Public Schools.[11]
Notable people
As a child the singer Patti Page (born Clara Ann Fowler) lived with her family for a time on Maple St. in Foraker.[12]
Rodeo champion and Oscar-winning actor Ben Johnson (The Last Picture Show) was born and raised on his family's ranch near Foraker.
References
- ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Foraker, Oklahoma
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b Jon D. May, "Foraker," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
- ^ "Census Viewer:Foraker, Oklahoma Population." Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 10, 2015.
- ^ a b Morris, p. 82.
- ^ Morris, pp.82-83.
- ^ "The Okie Legacy: Foraker Oklahoma". okielegacy.org. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.[title missing]
- ^ "The Spell of the West." http://www.jcs-group.com/ldwest/towns/okie2.html[permanent dead link], accessed 25 Feb 2011
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ 1930 US Census. Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Foraker, Osage, Oklahoma; Roll: 1922; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 19; Image: 1054.0; FHL microfilm: 2341656.