Editing Corn, Oklahoma

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Corn, Oklahoma
| settlement_type    = [[Town]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Corn, OK - from the east (4244779799).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map          = OKMap-doton-Corn.PNG
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Corn, Oklahoma
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Oklahoma]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Oklahoma|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Washita County, Oklahoma|Washita]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 0.90
| area_land_km2      = 0.90
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.35
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.35
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_total   = 592
| population_footnotes = 
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_density_km2 = 655.82
| population_density_sq_mi = 1696.28

<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = -6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 1585
| coordinates        = {{coord|35|22|45|N|98|46|54|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 73024
| area_code          = [[Area code 580|580]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 40-17300<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2413242<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2413242}}</ref>
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Corn''' is a town in [[Washita County, Oklahoma|Washita County]], [[Oklahoma]], United States. The population was 503 at the [[United States Census, 2010|2010 census]].<ref name="Census2010DP1">{{cite web| url= http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US4017300| title= Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 (DP-1): Corn town, Oklahoma| publisher= U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate= May 11, 2016| archive-url= https://archive.today/20200213114527/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US4017300| archive-date= February 13, 2020| url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Geography==
Corn is located 13 miles northeast of [[New Cordell, Oklahoma|Cordell]] in west-central [[Oklahoma]].<ref name="odot-2008-map">{{cite map|publisher=Oklahoma Department of Transportation|title=Official State Map|edition=2008}}</ref>

The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], reports that the town has a total area of {{convert|0.357|sqmi|km2}}, all land.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2010_place_list_40.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=May 11, 2016| date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990 (Oklahoma)}}</ref>

==History==

===Origins of the town name===
The word {{Lang|de|Korn}} itself is a German word translated in English as 'grain'.<ref name=Linguee>{{cite web|title=Linguee Dictionary - grain|url=http://www.linguee.com/english-german/translation/grain.html|website=Linguee Dictionary|publisher=Linguee GmbH|accessdate=January 25, 2016}}</ref>  Several sources confirm that the town settled by German immigrants received its name because its first post office was located in (or near) a corn field.<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile for Corn, Oklahoma, OK|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=15687|website=ePodunk|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref><ref name=GAMEO-Corn/>  As a result of [[anti-German sentiment]] during [[World War I]], the name of the town was permanently changed from ''Korn'' to ''Corn''.<ref name="korn">{{cite web|last1=Heinrichs|first1=Don| title=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Corn|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CO060|website=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=January 23, 2016}}</ref>

===Founding and early years===
The town of Corn, or '''Korn'''—as it was spelled at that time—was originally settled by [[Germans from Russia|German-speaking Russian]] [[Mennonite]]s.<ref name="korn"/>  Around the time of the Cheyenne-Arapaho [[Land Run of 1892]], [[Mennonite]] missionary John J. Kliewer, who was stationed at nearby Shelly Indian Mission, invited fellow Mennonites from [[Kansas]] to homestead lands left unclaimed by [[Cheyenne]]s and [[Arapaho]]s. Sixteen Mennonite families staked homestead claims in 1892. By 1893, forty families had settled in the area.<ref name="ML">{{cite web|last1=Kroeker|first1=Marvin E.|title=Natives and Settlers: The Mennonite Invasion of Indian Territory|url=https://ml.bethelks.edu/issue/vol-61-no-2/article/natives-and-settlers-the-mennonite-invasion-of-ind/|website=Mennonite Life|publisher=mennonite-life@bethelks.edu|accessdate=May 17, 2016|location=Vol. 61 No. 2|date=June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611153704/https://ml.bethelks.edu/issue/vol-61-no-2/article/natives-and-settlers-the-mennonite-invasion-of-ind/|archive-date=June 11, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CornMarker">{{cite web|title=Korn to Corn - Corn, Oklahoma|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM81AN_Korn_to_Corn_Corn_Oklahoma|website=waymarking.com| publisher=Groundspeak, Inc.|accessdate=May 10, 2016}}</ref>

These Mennonite homesteaders brought with them a particular variety of [[winter wheat]] known as "Turkey Red", which grew particularly well in the western Oklahoma soil.<ref name=GAMEO-Farming>{{cite web|last1=Fretz|first1=J Winfield|title=Farming Among Mennonites in North America|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Farming_Among_Mennonites_in_North_America|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|publisher=GAMEO|accessdate=January 26, 2016|date=1956}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey Hard Red Winter Wheat|url=http://heritageseeds.org/seed-profiles/turkey-hard-red-winter-wheat/|website=Heritage Seed Co.|publisher=Heritage Seed Co.|accessdate=January 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201231416/http://heritageseeds.org/seed-profiles/turkey-hard-red-winter-wheat/|archive-date=February 1, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1894, Peter Bergman donated part of his land to establish a place of worship. A rough Mennonite church was then built; a dugout with a low sloping roof and sides made of sod. Church benches were made from local [[Populus deltoides|Cottonwood trees]].<ref name=GAMEO-Corn>{{cite web|author1=Hege, Henry|title=Corn (Oklahoma, USA)|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Corn_%28Oklahoma,_USA%29|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|publisher=GAMEO|accessdate=May 10, 2016|date=1953}}</ref>  Between 1893 and 1920, a total of eight Mennonite churches were established within an eight-mile radius of the town.<ref name="ML"/>  To mark its centennial year, Corn received a historical marker from the state honoring both its agricultural and Mennonite heritage.<ref name="CornMarker"/>

On April 27, 1896, the Korn post office was established in a rural home, two and one-fourth miles north of the present-day town. Shortly thereafter, the post office was moved three miles north of the original site to a store owned by James Kendall. When Kendall's planned townsite failed to develop at the location, the post office was once again moved in 1903 to the present day site of the town of Corn, finding its new home in the merchandise store of George B. Flaming.<ref name="korn"/>

World War I brought down harassment both from vigilantes and the Washita County [[Council of National Defense|Council of Defense]] upon many of the Germans and Mennonites that lived in and around Corn. This was due to the combination of their German heritage and their particular Mennonite/[[Anabaptists|Anabaptist]] theological convictions, which dictated their [[Conscientious objector|conscientious objection]] to participation in warfare.<ref name="wash">{{cite web|last1=O'Dell|first1=Larry|title=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Washita County|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=WA035|website=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|accessdate=January 23, 2016}}</ref>  Not only did the town Americanize its name from ''Korn'' to ''Corn'' during this time, but the nearby Cordell Christian College closed and a German-language newspaper, the {{Lang|de|Oklahoma Vorwärts}}, ceased operation after threats from the [[Knights of Liberty (vigilante group)|Knights of Liberty]].<ref name="wash"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bilger |first=Edda |date=Spring 1976 |title=The 'Oklahoma Vorwärts': The Voice of German-Americans in Oklahoma During World War I |url=https://archive.org/details/chroniclesofokla5419okla/ |journal=[[The Chronicles of Oklahoma]] |volume=LIV |issue=I |pages=258–259 |access-date=February 18, 2024 |via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>

===Education===
A private Christian academy, under the name {{Lang|de|Washita Gemeinde Schule|italic=no}}, was established by the [[Mennonite Brethren Church]] as a Bible and language school in 1902.<ref name=GAMEO-CBA>{{cite web|last1=Vogt|first1=JW|last2=Steiner|first2=Sam|title=Corn Bible Academy (Corn, Oklahoma, USA)|url=http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Corn_Bible_Academy_(Corn,_Oklahoma,_USA)|website=Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online|publisher=GAMEO|accessdate=January 26, 2016|date=July 2008}}</ref>  Now known as Corn Bible Academy, it has continuously educated students into the 21st century<ref name="korn"/> and is the oldest [[Christian school]] west of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]].<ref name=CBA>{{cite web|title=Corn Bible Academy home page|url=http://www.cornbible.org/|website=Corn Bible Academy|publisher=Corn Bible Academy|accessdate=January 25, 2016}}</ref>  As of 2016, it was serving grades 7–12.<ref name=CBA/>

In 1968, the public school of nearby [[Colony, Oklahoma|Colony]] merged with the Corn public schools, forming the Washita Heights School District. On April 23, 2010, a referendum was held asking for voter approval to disband the increasingly small school district of Washita Heights, along with its school in Corn, due to the lack of students within the district and insufficient funding.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rolland|first1=Megan|title=Washita Heights community faces loss of schools|url=http://newsok.com/article/3446368|website=News OK|publisher=newsok.com|accessdate=May 11, 2016|date=March 14, 2010}}</ref>  The dissolution was approved and the nearby Cordell schools annexed the Washita Heights district.{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1960= 317
|1970= 409
|1980= 542
|1990= 548
|2000= 591
|2010= 503
|2020= 592
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 591 people, 198 households, and 136 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|1,630.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 226 housing units at an average density of {{convert|623.4|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the town was 91.71% [[European American]], 0.34% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.86% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 2.88% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 3.21% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.57% of the population.

There were 198 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 33.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,154, and the median income for a family was $33,281. Males had a median income of $23,750 compared o $18,750 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $15,632. About 14.4% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

===2010 census===
As of 2010, the Census Bureau reported 503 people, 188 households and 118 family households in the town. 93.6% of its population was white. 42.7% were male and 57.3% were female. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86 persons. The percent of the population 18 years and older was 84.9%, or 427 persons, while 37.8%, or 190 persons, were 65 years and older. The median age was 53.6 years.<ref name="Census2010DP1"/>

==Economy==
Agriculture has been a primary base for Corn and the surrounding county.<ref name="wash"/> Crops include wheat, cotton, [[sorghum]], barley, rye, and peanuts.<ref name="wash"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100720214014/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CO060.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Corn (Town)]

{{Washita County, Oklahoma}}
{{Oklahoma}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Towns in Washita County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:German-Russian culture in the United States]]