Swink, Oklahoma

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Swink is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Choctaw County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 66.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1">"DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 - 2010 Demographic Profile Data: Swink CDP, Oklahoma," Template:Webarchive American Fact Finder, United States Census Bureau. Accessed May 28, 2015.</ref> The population was 83 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a town; the community disincorporated on December 1, 2000.<ref>Population Estimates Boundary Changes Template:Webarchive, United States Census Bureau, 2007-07-01. Accessed 2008-11-06.</ref>

History

A post office was established at Swink, Indian Territory on August 14, 1902. It was named for D.R. Swink, a local merchant.<ref>Shirk, George H. Oklahoma Place Names (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965), p. 201.</ref> At the time of its founding, Swink was located in Kiamitia County, a part of the Apukshunnubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.<ref>Morris, John W. Historical Atlas of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986), plate 38.</ref>

Swink is the location of the historic District Choctaw Chief's House, which was the home of District Choctaw Chief Thomas LeFlore.<ref name="Travel-OK-Chief-House">"District Choctaw Chief's House," TravelOK, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. Accessed May 28, 2015.</ref> The house was built in 1837 and is the oldest house in the state of Oklahoma that remains on its original site.<ref name="Travel-OK-Chief-House"/> The house is on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society. Oklahoma's National Register Handbook. Oklahoma Historical Society, April 1, 2015. Accessed May 28, 2015.</ref>

Geography

Swink is located in eastern Choctaw County. U.S. Route 70 passes along the northern edge of the community, leading west Template:Convert to Hugo, the county seat, and east Template:Convert to Valliant.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Swink CDP has an area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Template:US Census population As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 66 people, 36 households, and 20 families residing in the community.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/> There were 54 housing units.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/> The racial makeup of the town was 92.4% White, 1.5% Native American, and 6.1% from two or more races.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/> Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/>

There were 36 households, out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/> 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/> The average household size was 1.83 and the average family size was 2.30.<ref name="2010-Census-DP-1"/>

In the town the population was spread out, with 7.6% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 31.8% from 45 to 64, and 39.4% who were 65 years of age or older.<ref name="Census-2010-QT-P1">"QT-P1 Age Groups and Sex: 2010 - 2010 Census Summary File 1: Swink CDP, Oklahoma," Template:Webarchive American Fact Finder, United States Census Bureau. Accessed May 28, 2015.</ref> The median age was 54.5 years.<ref name="Census-2010-QT-P1"/> For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males.<ref name="Census-2010-QT-P1"/> For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.<ref name="Census-2010-QT-P1"/>

According to the 2013 American Community Survey, The median income for a household in the town was $21,875, and the median income for a family was $21,042.<ref name="ACS-2013-DP03">"DP03 Selected Economic Characteristics - 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates: Swink CDP, Oklahoma," Template:Webarchive American Fact Finder, United States Census Bureau. Accessed May 28, 2015.</ref> Males had a median income of $105,313, and there were not enough sample observations to calculate a median income for females.<ref name="ACS-2013-DP03"/> The per capita income for the community was $21,206.<ref name="ACS-2013-DP03"/> There were 17.6% of families and 18.5% of the population living below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.8% of those 65 years of age or older.<ref name="ACS-2013-DP03"/>

Steamboat Heroine

Near Swink was the discovery of Oklahoma’s only steamboat wreck.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The steamboat Heroine sank in the Red River on May 7, 1838, after hitting a submerged snag.<ref name=HeroineOHS /> The Red River changed course in the early 1840s, leaving the Heroine buried in what became a pasture.<ref name=HeroineOHS /> In the 1990s during a period of flood, the river moved again and Heroine reappeared in a riverbank.<ref name=HeroineOHS /> In 1999 the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University collaborated on a dig of the site.<ref name=HeroineOHS>Template:Cite web</ref> The excavation occurred between 2001 and 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Reconstructed segments of the boat and its machinery, along with artifacts from the wreck, are now in the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>