Walters, Oklahoma
Walters, Oklahoma | ||
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FIPS code 40-78150[3] | | |
GNIS feature ID | 2412177[2] |
Walters is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,412 as of the 2020 United States census.[4] The city, nestled between twin creeks, is the county seat of Cotton County.[5] 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
For most of the 18th century, the Oklahoma region was under French control as part of 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 the 1867 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. Walters, but the "s" was not included on the post office application, so the post office was named Walter.[7]
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 became the last county formed in Oklahoma on August 28, 1912. Shortly thereafter, another election was held to determine whether Walters or Temple would become the county seat; on December 2, 1912, Walters won by 282 votes, officially becoming the seat of Cotton County. The names of Walter and Walters were used interchangeably and confusingly until June 1917, when an application was made to Congress to officially change the post office name to Walters.[7]
Geography
The city is lies in the
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km2), of which 8.1 square miles (21 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (2.75%) water.
For tourism purposes, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department has designated Southwestern Oklahoma, including Cotton County, as Great Plains Country.
Climate data for Walters, Oklahoma | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 52.5 (11.4) |
58.4 (14.7) |
66.7 (19.3) |
76.2 (24.6) |
83.2 (28.4) |
91.5 (33.1) |
96.7 (35.9) |
96.7 (35.9) |
88.5 (31.4) |
77.6 (25.3) |
64.7 (18.2) |
54.8 (12.7) |
75.6 (24.2) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 28 (−2) |
32.4 (0.2) |
39.4 (4.1) |
49.4 (9.7) |
58.7 (14.8) |
67.5 (19.7) |
71.1 (21.7) |
70.4 (21.3) |
62.9 (17.2) |
51.5 (10.8) |
39.2 (4.0) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
50.1 (10.1) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.4 (36) |
1.6 (41) |
3.2 (81) |
3.8 (97) |
4.7 (120) |
4.8 (120) |
2.4 (61) |
2.6 (66) |
3.4 (86) |
3.3 (84) |
1.7 (43) |
1.5 (38) |
34.4 (870) |
Source 1: weather.com | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Weatherbase[8] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1910 | 1,377 | — | |
1920 | 3,032 | 120.2% | |
1930 | 2,262 | −25.4% | |
1940 | 2,238 | −1.1% | |
1950 | 2,743 | 22.6% | |
1960 | 2,825 | 3.0% | |
1970 | 2,611 | −7.6% | |
1980 | 2,778 | 6.4% | |
1990 | 2,519 | −9.3% | |
2000 | 2,657 | 5.5% | |
2010 | 2,551 | −4.0% | |
2020 | 2,412 | −5.4% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[9] |
As of the
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 age the city's 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
Historic Buildings
All NRHP-listed buildings in Cotton County, Oklahoma are located in Walters:
- The First United Methodist Church, built in 1917.
- The Cotton County Courthouse, a Classical Revivalstructure from 1925.
- The Walters Rock Island Depot. In 1984 the city bought the Rock Island Depot, and the Cotton County Art Council rehabilitated the building, turning it into a museum.[10]
Culture
The Walters Herald, the local newspaper published since 1925,[11] promotes itself as "The Voice of Cotton County".[12]
Walters has many annual festivals that take place throughout the year. Festivals are centered around the arts, agriculture, western Cowboy culture, and Native American culture.
Spring
The CCAC Arts & Crafts Festival is a judged arts and crafts festival sponsored by the Cotton County Art Council and the Oklahoma Arts Council.[13]
Summer
Comanche Nation Homecoming Powwow, which features multiple categories of traditional American Indian dancing including gourd, cloth, buckskin, straight, fancy and more. Food and merchandise vendors are also on-hand.[14]
Round Up Club Rodeo, which besides the actual multi-day rodeo features a parade with decorated cars, trucks, tractors and floats.[15]
Notable people
- Terry_Brown_(American_football) only Oklahoman to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl
- Fred R. Harris (b. 1930), former U.S Senator from Oklahoma and U.S presidential candidate [7]
- LaDonna Harris (b. 1931), Comanche Native American social activist and politician
- Van Heflin (1908-1971), Hollywood movie actor[7]
- Jed Johnson Sr. (1888-1963), politician and editor. Practiced law in Walters.[7]
- Abe Lemons (1922-2002), college basketball coach and graduate of Walters High School.[7]
- Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate and member Uniform Law Commission
Utilities
Telephone, Internet, and Digital TV is provided by Hilliary Communications.
References
- ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Walters, Oklahoma
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Walters (city), Oklahoma". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Oklahoma Department of Libraries. "Oklahoma Almanac 2005 - Oklahoma History" (PDF). pp. 687–691. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Walters". Larry O'Dell, Oklahoma Historical Society, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "Historical Weather for Walters, Oklahoma, United States".
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Walters". Larry O’Dell, Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ "The Walters Herald (Walters, Oklahoma) 1925-Current". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "The Walters Herald, The Voice of Cotton County". The Walters Herald. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "CCAC Arts & Crafts Festival". FestivalNet.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "Comanche Nation Homecoming Powwow". TravelOK.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "Walters 57th Annual Round-Up Club Rodeo kicked off Thursday". Kyle Payne, KSWO, July 18, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.