Editing Devol, Oklahoma

{{short description|Town in Oklahoma, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Devol, Oklahoma
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Town of Devol Oklahoma.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Rural town of Devol, Oklahoma 
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = OKMap-doton-Devol.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Devol, 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        = [[Cotton County, Oklahoma|Cotton]]

<!-- Government -->
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|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           = 1.29
|area_land_km2            = 1.29
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.50
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.50
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 93
|population_density_km2   = 72.18
|population_density_sq_mi = 186.75

<!-- 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             = 1070
|coordinates              = {{coord|34|11|43|N|98|35|18|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 73531
|area_code                = [[Area code 580|580]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 40-20450<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              = 2412422<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2412422}}</ref>
|website                  = 
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'''Devol''' is a town in [[Cotton County, Oklahoma|Cotton County]], [[Oklahoma]], United States. The population was 93 at the 2020 census, an decrease of 38 percent from 150 at the 2000 census.<ref>[https://data.census.gov/profile/Devol_town,_Oklahoma?g=160XX00US4020450 CensusViewer:Devol, Oklahoma Population]</ref> The town is named for J. Fiske Devol, who owned the land on which it stands.<ref name="EOHC-Devol">O'Dell, Larry. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=DE015 "Devol."] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed January 13, 2016.</ref>

==History==
The community of Devol began in 1907, when the [[Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway]] laid tracks through the area. A post office was established there on November 30, 1907. The railroad became a subsidiary of the [[Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad]] (MK&T or Katy) in 1911. By that year, the town had about 400 residents.<ref name="EOHC-Devol"/>

Discovery of the nearby Burkburnett Oil Field in 1918 initiated a brief boom in Devol. At least two refineries were built in the area, along with several oil pipelines. The 1920 census showed the population was 1,936. The town had the first dynamo in the area used for power in one of the two dance halls. Devol is said to have had four churches, a lumber store, feed store, a hotel, two dance halls/bars, a brothel and hundreds of small structures to rent as a home during the growing Burk boom.  However, the boom ended in 1922, and most of the people related to that business moved away. The town bank failed in 1927. In 1930, the population of Devol was only 328. The 1940 census showed 208 residents.<ref name="EOHC-Devol"/>

Devol continued to shrink after World War II. Only 152 residents remained in 1950. The high school closed in 1953, and in 1957, all grades were consolidated along with those of [[Randlett, Oklahoma|Randlett]] and [[Union Valley, Oklahoma|Union Valley]] to form the Big Pasture School District in Randlett. In 1959 a tornado damaged most of Devol's business district (all three on the main street) and the old high school building. The town's population reached 117, the lowest recorded in its history until the 2020 census. The MK&T abandoned its tracks in 1972, and in the 1980s the only remaining business was a tack shop that specialized in making race horse saddles. It closed in the 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The only business in Devol proper is the Helena Chemical Company, formerly M&E Soil Service, who employs two people. The post office had been threatened with closure in 1997 and 2002, and now operates limited weekly hours. However, a handful of casinos employ hundreds of employees southwest of the town near the Texas border {{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|0.5|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1920= 1936
|1930= 328
|1940= 208
|1950= 152
|1960= 117
|1970= 129
|1980= 186
|1990= 165
|2000= 150
|2010= 151
|2020= 93
|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=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 150 people, 62 households, and 40 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|302.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 68 housing units at an average density of {{convert|136.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 90.67% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 4.67% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 4.67% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 8.67% of the population.

There were 62 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,313, and the median income for a family was $46,563. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $28,333 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,792. There were 2.1% of families and 9.4% of the population living below the [[poverty line]], including 2.0% of under eighteens and 36.0% of those over 64.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=DE015 Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Devol]

{{Cotton County, Oklahoma}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Cotton County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Towns in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1907]]