Westville, Oklahoma

History

Before statehood, Westville was a community in the Goingsnake District of the Cherokee Nation. The town was founded in 1895, when the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (later acquired by the Kansas City Southern Railroad) was constructing a rail line from Kansas City to the Gulf Coast. The Westville post office was established on November 18, 1895. The town name honored Jim West, who lived one mile south of nearby Cincinnati, Arkansas, and whose son, Jim West Jr., was an attorney for the Kansas City Southern Railway.

The original plat for the included 175 acres. Expansion came soon with the development of the William D. Williams addition and the Pat Dore Addition.

In 1902 a second rail line, the Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway, which ran from Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Okmulgee, Oklahoma, began operations through Westville, giving the town an enviable position at the rail junction. That line, later owned by St. Louis – San Francisco Railway, discontinued service to Westville in the late 1940s.

When Adair County was formed in 1907, 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.{{cite book

Geography

Westville is 13 miles north of Stilwell and 15 miles south of Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 sqmi, all land.

Westville is located at the intersection of U.S. Routes 59 and 62.

Demographics

| As of the census of 2000, there were 1,596 people, 599 households, and 401 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,324.1 PD/sqmi. There were 719 housing units at an average density of 596.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 62.41% White, 0.25% African American, 28.07% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 2.63% from other races, and 6.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.02% of the population.

There were 599 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,381, and the median income for a family was $28,882. Males had a median income of $25,729 versus $20,438 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,055. About 16.1% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Westville has a Mayor-Council form of Government, which contains five member on the Town Council. Departments of the Town that report to the Council include the Police Department, Volunteer Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management, Street Department, and Town Clerk's Office.

Mayor Adam McKenzie was appointed interim mayor in 2021 when former Mayor Tony Barker stepped down from his position on the Council. After public election in 2022, new council member Chris Null was elected to finish the remainder of Barker's term. McKenzie was then confirmed to be the mayor at the following council meeting.

Council Members

• Mayor, Adam McKenzie (Re-elected 2023)
• Vice Mayor, Chris Null (Re-elected 2023)
• Councilman, Stefanie Mitchell (Re-elected 2025)
• Councilman, Michael Leach (Elected 2023)
• Councilman, Christina Hanvey (Elected 2025)

NRHP Sites

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

Sites in Westville listed on the National Register of Historic Places include:

• The Buffington Hotel, on Main St.
• The Rev. Jesse Bushyhead Grave, which has a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) marble monument to the Cherokee religious and political leader, in the Baptist Mission Cemetery off State Highway 59
• The Opera Block (on Main St. but since demolished)
• The Ballard Creek Roadbed (relevant to the Cherokee Trail of Tears, address restricted)
• Breadtown (relevant to the Cherokee Trail of Tears, address restricted)

Education

It is in the Westville Public Schools school district.

Notable people

• Thomas Buffington, Cherokee chief from 1899 to 1903
• Markwayne Mullin, United States Senator from Oklahoma and former United States Representative
• Jim Ross, World Wrestling Entertainment commentator
• Tom Woods, politician

References

References

1. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. {{GNIS. 2413475
3. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
4. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=WE020 Jack D. Baker, "Westville," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.] Accessed March 27, 2015.
5. "Westville". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
6. Cobb, Jennie Ross. (1902). "Ozark & Cherokee Central Railroad".
7. "Official State Map". Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
8. (May 24, 2020). "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
10. Geography Division. (December 22, 2020). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Adair County, OK". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].