Adair County, Oklahoma

Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,286.[1] Its county seat is Stilwell.[2] Adair County was named after the Adair family of the Cherokee tribe.[3] One source says that the county was specifically named for Watt Adair, one of the first Cherokees to settle in the area.[4]

Not to be confused with Adair, Oklahoma.
Adair County
U.S. county
Location within the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°53′N 94°40′W
Country United States
State Oklahoma
Founded1907
Named forThe Adair family of the Cherokee tribe.
SeatStilwell
Largest cityStilwell
Area
 • Total577 sq mi (1,490 km2)
 • Land573 sq mi (1,480 km2)
 • Water3.6 sq mi (9 km2)  0.6%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total22,286
 • Estimate 
(2019)
22,194
 • Density40/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd

History

The county was created in 1906 from the Goingsnake and Flint districts of the Cherokee Nation.[5] There was a decade-long struggle over what town would become the county seat between Stilwell and Westville.[6] When the county was formed, Westville was identified as the county seat, due partly to its location at the intersection of two major railroads: the Kansas City Southern Railway and the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway.[7] The county seat was moved to Stilwell in 1910.[8]

During the Great Depression and World War II, strawberries became a major crop in Adair County. In 1948, the first Stilwell Strawberry Festival was organized. The 2002 festival saw some 40,000 people in attendance.[6]

The 1910 census counted 10,535 residents.[5] By 1990, it was up to 18,421.[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 573 square miles (1,480 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (0.6%) is water.[9]

The county is part of the Ozark plateau uplift, the tree-covered foothills of the Boston Mountains.[5] North and central Adair County are drained by the Illinois River and three creeks.[5] Two more creeks lie near Stilwell.[5]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
191010,535—
192013,70330.1%
193014,7567.7%
194015,7556.8%
195014,918−5.3%
196013,112−12.1%
197015,14115.5%
198018,57522.7%
199018,421−0.8%
200021,03814.2%
201022,6837.8%
2019 (est.)22,194[10]−2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13]
1990-2000[14] 2010-2019[1]
Age pyramid for Adair County, Oklahoma, based on census 2000 data.

As of the census[15] of 2010, Adair County had a small population relative to its surrounding counties, with only 21,038 people, a large percentage of them, 43.3 percent, Native American. The remainder of the population was 43 percent white, 10.5 percent of more than one race, and 5.3 percent Hispanic or Latino. Less than 1 percent of the population was either Black or African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander, and 2.3 percent were identified as other. This makes it the only majority-minority county in Oklahoma. Adair county had a higher percentage of Native Americans (American Indians) in its population than any other Oklahoma country.[16]

The median age of the population was 36.2 years and two-thirds of the county's population were either under the age of 18 (28 percent) or between the ages of 25 to 44 (24.8 percent). Of the remaining population, 25.9 percent were ages 45 to 64, 12.9 percent were 65 years of age or older, and 13.2 percent were ages 18 to 24. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.

There were a total of 8,156 households and 5,982 families in the county in 2010. There were 9,142 housing units. Of the 8,156 households, 31.4 percent included children under the age of 18 and slightly more than half (52.7 percent) included married couples living together. 26.7 percent were non-family, 14.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8 percent contained a single individual of 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.25.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,258, and the median income for a family was $32,930. Males had a median income of $28,370 versus $23,384 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,560. About 25.3 percent of families and 27.8 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.8 percent of those under age 18 and 18.7 percent of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of November 1, 2019[17]
Party Number of Voters Percentage
Democratic 4,904 47.97%
Republican 4,069 39.80%
Others 1,211 11.84%
Total 10,224 100%
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 73.5% 4,787 21.2% 1,382 5.3% 344
2012 67.3% 4,381 32.7% 2,127
2008 69.3% 4,638 30.7% 2,052
2004 66.0% 4,971 34.0% 2,562
2000 58.6% 3,503 39.5% 2,361 1.9% 113
1996 45.3% 2,956 42.8% 2,792 11.9% 773
1992 45.5% 2,994 40.2% 2,645 14.3% 944
1988 57.0% 3,558 42.1% 2,624 0.9% 58
1984 65.6% 4,423 33.6% 2,266 0.8% 56
1980 54.1% 3,429 43.5% 2,761 2.4% 151
1976 48.1% 3,013 50.9% 3,183 1.0% 63
1972 73.1% 4,720 24.8% 1,601 2.1% 134
1968 53.0% 2,877 28.6% 1,549 18.4% 1,000
1964 48.8% 2,859 51.2% 3,003
1960 65.8% 3,655 34.2% 1,903
1956 56.6% 3,152 43.4% 2,418
1952 52.7% 3,037 47.3% 2,725
1948 44.0% 2,407 56.0% 3,067
1944 50.2% 2,792 49.6% 2,760 0.2% 12
1940 50.5% 3,275 49.4% 3,203 0.1% 6
1936 45.2% 2,699 54.5% 3,257 0.3% 16
1932 33.7% 1,941 66.3% 3,812
1928 59.4% 2,867 40.2% 1,944 0.4% 20
1924 51.6% 2,317 43.3% 1,942 5.1% 229
1920 58.0% 2,181 41.5% 1,559 0.6% 21
1916 41.7% 1,010 49.2% 1,190 9.1% 221
1912 44.2% 850 47.6% 916 8.2% 158
1908 47.9% 782 50.5% 825 1.6% 27

While Adair County has a majority of Democrats among its registered voters, it is unusual as an example of a majority-minority county that votes Republican. No Democrat has won Adair County since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Economy

The county is home to food processing and canning industries; poultry farms; cattle ranches; horse breeders; dog breeders, and strawberry fields.[19]

Communities
Map of Adair County

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated places

NRHP sites
Main article: National Register of Historic Places listings in Adair County, Oklahoma

The following sites in Adair County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 15, 2001. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Oklahoma Almanac Online (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Libraries.
  4. "Stilwell is part of 'Green County Oklahoma'"" Archived February 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  5. Whitaker, Rachel. "Adair County". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  6. Barker, Betty Starr. "Stilwell". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  7. Hill, Luther B. (1910). A History of the State of Oklahoma. I. The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 470.
  8. Oklahoma Almanac 2005
  9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  10. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  13. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  16. "Oklahoma American Indian and Alaska Native Population by County". Indexmundi. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  17. "Oklahoma Registration Statistics by County" (PDF). OK.gov. November 1, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  19. Adair, Oklahoma Almanac, 2005 (accessed May 22, 2013)

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