Carter County, Oklahoma

Carter County
Carter County
County
	Carter County Courthouse in Ardmore
	Location within the U.S. state of Oklahoma
	Oklahoma's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 34°15′N 97°17′W / 34.25°N 97.29°W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Founded	1907
Named for	Ben W. Carter
Seat	Ardmore
Largest city	Ardmore
Area
• Total	834 sq mi (2,160 km2)
• Land	822 sq mi (2,130 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (30 km2) 1.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	48,003
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	cartercountyok.us

Carter County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,003.^[1] Its county seat is Ardmore.^[2] The county was named for Captain Ben W. Carter, a Cherokee who lived among the Chickasaw.^[3] Carter County is part of the Ardmore Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also a part of the Texoma region.

History

Prior to statehood, the present Carter County, Oklahoma, was part of Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation of the Indian Territory.^[4]

After the Civil War, the government of the United States forced the Chickasaw government to allow railroads built across its territory. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (controlled by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, AT&SF) built a line north from Texas to Purcell.

In 1901-1903 the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (acquired by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway in 1907) built a line from Arkansas to Ardmore. Oil production spurred further railroad development. In 1913–14, the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway constructed a line from Ardmore west to Ringling. In 1916, the Ringling and Oil Fields Railway laid tracks north from Ringling Junction to Healdton. These last two rail lines were abandoned in 1976.^[3]

Oil and gas production began very early in the 20th century. The Healdton field opened in 1913, and led to the development of Ardmore as a major oil production center. However, a disastrous fire occurred in Ardmore in 1915, when a railroad car exploded, killing 43 people and destroying much of the downtown. Ardmore and the local oil industry recovered, and the city also became a manufacturing center. Akron Tire and Rubber Company built and operated a plant in Ardmore as early as 1915. In 1970, Uniroyal built a tire plant there. It was acquired by Michelin North America in 1990. By the start of the 21st century, manufacturing was the largest component of the county economy.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 834 square miles (2,160 km²), of which 822 square miles (2,130 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (1.4%) is water.^[5]

The county contains parts of several physiographic regions, including the Arbuckle Mountains, the Coastal Plains, the Red Bed plains and the Cross Timbers. The northern part of the county drains to the Washita River, while several creeks drain the southern part directly to the Red River.^[3]

Geology

The Healdton Field, encompassing Healdton and located in the western portion of Carter County, produces from the Pennsylvanian Healdton sands of the Hoxbar Group and the Ordovician massive carbonate Arbuckle Group.^[6] The field is located on the "Healdton uplift", a northwest–southeast trending anticline, which formed with the Wichita Orogeny, and is 8 miles long and up to 3 miles wide.^[7] This was followed by deposition of the Healdton sandstones and shales on pre-Pennsylvanian eroded rocks and subsequent folding during the Arbuckle Orogeny.^[8] A prospector named Palmer drilled a shallow well, 425 feet, near an oil seep in the 1890s but Federal Law prohibited oil development on "Indian lands" until the early 1900s.^[9] Therefore, the discovery of the field is credited to the drilling of No. 1 Wirt Franklin in 1913.^[9]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Garvin County (north)
Murray County (northeast)
Johnston County (east)
Marshall County (southeast)
Love County (south)
Jefferson County (southwest)
Stephens County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	25,358	—
1920	40,247	58.7%
1930	41,419	2.9%
1940	43,292	4.5%
1950	36,455	−15.8%
1960	39,044	7.1%
1970	37,349	−4.3%
1980	43,610	16.8%
1990	42,919	−1.6%
2000	45,621	6.3%
2010	47,557	4.2%
2020	48,003	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[10] 1790-1960^[11] 1900-1990^[12] 1990-2000^[13] 2010^[14]

As of the census of 2000, there were 45,621 people, 17,992 households, and 12,648 families residing in the county.^[15] The population density was 55 inhabitants per square mile (21/km²). There were 20,577 housing units at an average density of 25 units per square mile (9.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.4% White, 7.60% Black or African American, 7.92% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races, and 4.45% from two or more races; 2.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the 2020 census, its population was 48,003.^[1]

As of 2000, there were 17,992 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $29,405, and the median income for a family was $36,729. Males had a median income of $30,018 versus $20,877 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,511. About 12.70% of families and 16.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 12.40% of those age 65 or over. Per 2021 census estimates, the county's median household income was $52,906 and it had a poverty rate of 14.2%.^[1]

Politics

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of May 31, 2023^[16]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	8,419	28.07%
	Republican	15,656	52.20%
	Others	5,919	19.73%
Total		29,994	100%

United States presidential election results for Carter County, Oklahoma^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	14,699	75.46%	4,470	22.95%	310	1.59%
2016	13,752	74.20%	4,002	21.59%	780	4.21%
2012	12,214	71.34%	4,908	28.66%	0	0.00%
2008	13,241	70.27%	5,603	29.73%	0	0.00%
2004	12,178	65.32%	6,466	34.68%	0	0.00%
2000	9,667	58.74%	6,659	40.46%	132	0.80%
1996	6,769	42.83%	6,979	44.16%	2,056	13.01%
1992	5,947	32.38%	7,171	39.04%	5,250	28.58%
1988	8,430	50.98%	7,988	48.31%	117	0.71%
1984	11,578	64.96%	6,161	34.57%	83	0.47%
1980	9,262	57.34%	6,509	40.29%	383	2.37%
1976	6,668	44.25%	8,319	55.20%	83	0.55%
1972	9,368	66.41%	4,577	32.45%	161	1.14%
1968	5,127	35.73%	5,807	40.47%	3,414	23.79%
1964	4,986	31.90%	10,645	68.10%	0	0.00%
1960	6,288	42.69%	8,441	57.31%	0	0.00%
1956	5,974	39.01%	9,341	60.99%	0	0.00%
1952	5,974	36.76%	10,276	63.24%	0	0.00%
1948	2,147	18.48%	9,474	81.52%	0	0.00%
1944	2,446	20.99%	9,184	78.81%	24	0.21%
1940	3,270	23.79%	10,441	75.96%	35	0.25%
1936	2,247	19.26%	9,387	80.44%	35	0.30%
1932	1,733	15.25%	9,633	84.75%	0	0.00%
1928	6,538	55.80%	5,086	43.41%	92	0.79%
1924	3,164	29.13%	7,134	65.68%	564	5.19%
1920	3,561	35.14%	5,997	59.18%	575	5.67%
1916	1,013	20.64%	2,949	60.09%	946	19.27%
1912	652	20.24%	1,860	57.75%	709	22.01%

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Carter County, Oklahoma". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d O'Dell, Larry. "Carter County," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, 2009. Accessed March 28, 2015.
^ Charles Goins, Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006), plate 105.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^ Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 255
^ Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, pp. 256-257
^ Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, pp. 255-256
^ ^a ^b Latham, J.W., Petroleum Geology of Healdton Field, Carter County, Oklahoma, in AAPG Memoir 14, Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 256
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ "Voter Registration Totals". OK Elections Interactive Statistics Beta. May 31, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 28, 2018.