Editing Major County, Oklahoma

{{short description|County in Oklahoma, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Major County
 | state                = Oklahoma
 | ex image             = Glass Mountains, OK (4244781757).jpg
 | ex image size        = 300px
 | ex image cap         = [[Glass Mountains]]
 | founded year         = 1907
 | founded date         = 
 | seat wl              = Fairview
 | largest city wl      = Fairview
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 958
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 955
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 3.0
 | area percentage      = 0.3%
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 7782
 | census estimate yr   = 
 | pop                  = 
 | density_sq_mi        = auto
 | time zone            = Central
 | district             = 3rd
|website=https://majorcountyok.org/}}

'''Major County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] in the northwestern part of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Oklahoma]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], its population was 7,782.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major County, Oklahoma|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Major_County,_Oklahoma?g=050XX00US40093|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 13, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Fairview, Oklahoma|Fairview]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The county was created in 1907.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/OK_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Oklahoma: Individual County Chronologies|publisher=The Newberry Library|website=Oklahoma Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|access-date=February 24, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402160135/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/OK_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Located in northwestern Oklahoma, Major County is bounded by [[Woods County, Oklahoma|Woods]] and [[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma|Alfalfa]] counties in the north, [[Garfield County, Oklahoma|Garfield County]] on the east, [[Kingfisher County, Oklahoma|Kingfisher]], [[Blaine County, Oklahoma|Blaine]], and [[Dewey County, Oklahoma|Dewey]] on the south, and [[Woodward County, Oklahoma|Woodward]] on the west. Major County has 957.87 square miles of land and water. It is drained by the [[North Canadian River|North Canadian]] and Cimarron Rivers, and the Eagle Chief, Griever, and Sand Creeks.

==History==
Upon statehood in 1907, Major County was created from the southern part of a territorial county.<ref name="majorpedia">Peterson-Veatch, Ross. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=MA006 "Major County,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.</ref> Fairview, which had been settled following the [[Land Run of 1893]], was designated the county seat, and voters reaffirmed the choice on December 22, 1908.<ref name="fairviewpedia">Wilson, Linda D. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FA007 "Fairview,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.</ref> The county commissioners rented office space until a brick courthouse was constructed.<ref name="fairviewpedia"/> A second courthouse, made of stone, was erected in 1928.<ref name="fairviewpedia"/>

Named for John Charles Major, a representative of the state's 1906 Constitutional Convention, the area was originally settled by large numbers of Kansas Mennonites.<ref name="majorpedia"/> One county town, Meno, received its name from an early leader of the [[Mennonite]] movement, Menno Simons.<ref name="majorpedia"/>

The county experienced "Black Sunday" dust storms on April 14, 1935.<ref name="ringwoodpedia">Peterson-Veatch, Ross. [http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=RI009 "Ringwood,"] ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|958|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|955|sqmi}} are land and {{convert|3.0|sqmi}} (0.3%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_40.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 21, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

Eagle Chief Creek, which empties into the Cimarron River near [[Cleo Springs, Oklahoma|Cleo Springs]], was known to the [[Cheyenne people]] as ''Maheonekamax''.<ref name="petter">{{cite book | title=English-Cheyenne dictionary | url=https://archive.org/details/Ayer_421_C25_P49_1915 | publisher=V. Petter | author=Petter, Rodolphe. | year=1915 | location=Kettle Falls, Wash. | pages=[https://archive.org/details/Ayer_421_C25_P49_1915/page/n1083 920]}}</ref>

A large [[gypsum]] formation extends across much of western Oklahoma, and the [[Ames crater|Ames Structure]], which is buried under 3,000 meters of sand and soil, is possibly the result of a meteorite impact.

The town of Ringwood is a well-known producer of watermelons in the region and holds a Watermelon Festival annually.<ref name="ringwoodpedia"/>

===Major highways===
* [[Image:US 60.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 60 in Oklahoma|U.S. Highway 60]]
* [[Image:US 281.svg|23px]] [[U.S. Route 281 in Oklahoma|U.S. Highway 281]]
* [[Image:US 412.svg|23px]] [[U.S. Route 412#Oklahoma|U.S. Highway 412]]
* [[Image:Oklahoma State Highway 8.svg|20px]] [[State Highway 8 (Oklahoma)|State Highway 8]]
* [[Image:Oklahoma State Highway 58.svg|20px]] [[State Highway 58 (Oklahoma)|State Highway 58]]

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Woods County, Oklahoma|Woods County]] (northwest)
* [[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma|Alfalfa County]] (northeast)
* [[Garfield County, Oklahoma|Garfield County]] (east)
* [[Kingfisher County, Oklahoma|Kingfisher County]] (southeast)
* [[Blaine County, Oklahoma|Blaine County]] (south)
* [[Dewey County, Oklahoma|Dewey County]] (southwest)
* [[Woodward County, Oklahoma|Woodward County]] (west)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 15248
|1920= 12426
|1930= 12206
|1940= 11946
|1950= 10279
|1960= 7808
|1970= 7529
|1980= 8772
|1990= 8055
|2000= 7545
|2010= 7527
|2020= 7782
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ok190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/40/40093.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 9, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606155047/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/40/40093.html |archive-date=June 6, 2011 }}</ref>
}}
{{Stack|[[File:USA Major County, Oklahoma age pyramid.svg|thumb|Age pyramid for Major County, Oklahoma, based on census 2000 data.]]}}

As of the [[2000 United States census|2000 Census]],<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>  7,545 people, 3,046 households, and 2,208 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. The 3,540 housing units averaged {{convert|4|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units&nbsp;}}. Nearly all of the county's residents (94.96%) were listed as [[Race (United States Census)|White]] and 94.7% spoke [[English language|English]]. Most of the remaining residents were listed as Hispanic or Latino (4.02%), who spoke [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (4.1%), Native American (0.9%), or mixed (1.44%). A few spoke [[German language|German]] as their first language.

Of the 3,046 households in 2000, 31% had children under 18, 63.7% were married couples, 6% were a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were not families. A quarter of the households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.92.

The median age was 42 years. The age distribution was 24.7% under 18, 6.7% were 18 to 24, 24.4% were 25 to 44, 24.9% were 45 to 64, and 19.4% were 65 or older. Females slightly outnumber males, with 95.4 males for every 100 females and 91.5 males for every 100 females 18 and over.

The median income for a household was $30,949, and for a family was $36,888. Males had a median income of $28,078 versus $17,658 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $17,272. About 9.3% of families and 12% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 15.1% of those under 18 and 9.3% of those 65 or over.

==Politics==
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/20190115%20-%20Registration%20By%20County%20(vr2420).pdf|title=Oklahoma Registration Statistics by County|date=January 15, 2019|website=OK.gov|access-date=February 27, 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717212721/https://www.ok.gov/elections/documents/20190115%20-%20Registration%20By%20County%20(vr2420).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Number of Voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| align = center | 423
| align = center | 9.55%
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| align = center | 3,520
| align = center | 79.46%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| Others
| align = center | 487
| align = center | 10.99%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align = center | 4,430
! align = center | 100%
|}

Major County has been won by the Republican presidential nominee in every election except the 1932 [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] landslide, when [[Herbert Hoover]] lost every county in the [[West South Central States]],<ref>Robinson, Edgar Eugene; ''The Presidential Vote 1896-1932'', pp. 68, 109 {{ISBN|9780804716963}}</ref> being the only county in Oklahoma to be won by [[Alf Landon]] in 1936.<ref>[http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1936.htm Geographie Electorale]</ref> In the last five elections, the Republican presidential candidate has defeated the Democratic candidate by at least 60%,<ref>[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse New York Times Election Map (Zoom in on Oklahoma)]</ref> and no Democrat since [[Jimmy Carter]] [[1976 United States presidential election in Oklahoma|in 1976]] has obtained even 30% of the county's vote.

It is part of [[Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district]], which has a [[Cook Partisan Voting Index]] of R+29 and is represented by [[Frank Lucas (Oklahoma politician)|Frank Lucas]]. In the [[Oklahoma Senate]], it is part of the 27th district and is represented by Republican Casey Murdock. In the [[Oklahoma House of Representatives]], it is part of the 58th district and is represented by Republican [[Carl Newton]].
{{PresHead|place=Major County, Oklahoma|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|3,087|327|64|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|3,084|320|63|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,948|310|149|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,700|446|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,956|515|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|3,122|537|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,672|635|45|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|2,188|900|424|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|2,154|731|870|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,638|982|51|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,385|619|31|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,059|584|96|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|2,282|1,357|58|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,203|512|103|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,550|594|357|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,436|1,291|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|2,892|716|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,826|951|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|3,495|845|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|2,467|1,227|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|3,019|965|21|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|3,453|1,404|34|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|2,230|1,929|45|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,374|2,525|0|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|2,891|674|107|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,781|649|614|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,921|784|496|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|946|762|674|Oklahoma}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|1,210|689|596|Oklahoma}}
{{PresFoot|1908|Republican|1,446|877|480|Oklahoma}}

==Economy==
The county's economy has historically been based on agriculture, specifically wheat farming, poultry raising, and cattle ranching. Major crops have included corn, wheat, kaffir corn, broomcorn, and alfalfa. The Hallren Poultry and Creamery founded in Fairview in 1936 was the county's largest employer by the late 1950s.<ref name="majorpedia"/>

Oil and gas production have significantly bolstered the county economy, especially around the Ames Structure and the Ringwood oil field.<ref name="majorpedia"/>

==Communities==
===City===
* [[Fairview, Oklahoma|Fairview]] (county seat)

===Towns===
* [[Ames, Oklahoma|Ames]]
* [[Cleo Springs, Oklahoma|Cleo Springs]]
* [[Meno, Oklahoma|Meno]]
* [[Ringwood, Oklahoma|Ringwood]]

===Census-designated places===
* [[Chester, Oklahoma|Chester]]
* [[Isabella, Oklahoma|Isabella]]

===Other unincorporated places===
* [[Orienta, Oklahoma|Orienta]]

==NRHP sites==
{{Main|National Register of Historic Places listings in Major County, Oklahoma}}
These sites in Major County are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:
* [[Major County Courthouse]], Fairview
* [[First United Methodist Church (Fairview, Oklahoma)|First United Methodist Church]], Fairview

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Major County
|North     =
|Northeast = [[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma|Alfalfa County]]
|East      = [[Garfield County, Oklahoma|Garfield County]]
|Southeast = [[Kingfisher County, Oklahoma|Kingfisher County]]
|South     = [[Blaine County, Oklahoma|Blaine County]]
|Southwest = [[Dewey County, Oklahoma|Dewey County]]
|West      = [[Woodward County, Oklahoma|Woodward County]]
|Northwest = [[Woods County, Oklahoma|Woods County]]
}}

{{Major County, Oklahoma}}
{{Oklahoma}}

{{coord|36.31|-98.54|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-OK_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Major County, Oklahoma| ]]
[[Category:1907 establishments in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1907]]