Washington, Oklahoma

History

While some sources list the town as having been named after George Washington, first president of the United States, the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture relates a "popular local story" that the name was actually chosen to honor Caddo chief "Little Boy" George Washington, who had lived nearby.

A post office called Washington has been in operation since 1904. The post office charter was granted May 10, 1904.

When the Oklahoma Central Railway was built through McClain County in 1907, local resident Hoyt Turner and his Chickasaw-Choctaw wife, Daisy Willis, petitioned the federal court at Muskogee to remove the restrictions from a surplus allotment east of their farm so that a townsite could be established. The request was approved on December 24, 1907, shortly after statehood became effective, and Washington became the first townsite to have tribal restrictions removed for that reason.

Geography

Washington is in central McClain County, located along State Highway 24. It is 11 mi by road northwest of Purcell, and 31 mi south of Oklahoma City.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.48 sqmi, of which 0.01 sqmi, or 0.88%, are water. Walnut Creek, a southeast-flowing tributary of the Canadian River, runs along the northern edge of the town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 520 people, 186 households, and 146 families residing in the town. The population density was 503.8 PD/sqmi. There were 192 housing units at an average density of 186.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 92.12% White, 2.88% Native American, 1.15% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.23% of the population.

There were 186 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.18.

31.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.7% were 18 to 24, 31.9% were 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 were 64, and 12.1% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $36,806. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $20,089 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,309. About 13.1% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.

School system

Washington is the home of Washington Public Schools, which comprises a single K-12 school at 101 E. Kirby, Washington, OK 73093. The mascot is the warrior and school colors are red and white. Their rivals are the Purcell Dragons. , the graduation rate was 94.7%, there were 17.4 students per teacher, and 916 enrolled students.

Sports played by students include: softball, football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading, golf, and track. Extra-curricular activities include academic team, band, FCCLA, FFA, newspaper, NHS, science club, STUCO, and yearbook.

Notable residents

• Nick Blackburn, former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, became the baseball coach for Washington High School after retiring from professional baseball in 2015.
• Lometa Odom (19332017) basketball player and coach, member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
• James Winchester, long snapper for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League

References

References

1. "2024 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Oklahoma". United States Census Bureau.
2. "P1. Race – Washington town, Oklahoma: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. {{GNIS. 2413452
5. (October 3, 1932). "Washington, Va., Oldest Of Name". The Free Lance-Star.
6. [https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=WA033 Burns, Hoyt. "Washington." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.''] Accessed February 10, 2019.
7. "McClain County". Jim Forte Postal History.
8. "Official State Map". Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
9. (May 24, 2020). "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
11. "Washington Public Schools". Washington Public Schools.
12. [https://newsok.com/article/5413825/high-school-baseball-former-mlb-pitcher-nick-blackburn-giving-back-to-baseball? Unruh, Jacob. "High school baseball: Former MLB pitcher Nick Blackburn giving back to baseball." NewsOK. April 25, 2015.] Accessed June 20, 2015.
13. "James Winchester Player profile".