Payne County, Oklahoma

Payne County, Oklahoma
Payne County Courthouse
Seal of Payne County, Oklahoma Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location in the U.S.
Founded	May 2, 1890
Named for	Capt. David L. Payne
Seat	Stillwater
Largest city	Stillwater
Area
• Total	697 sq mi (1,805 km2)
• Land	685 sq mi (1,774 km2)
Population (est.)
• (2013)	79,066
• Density	113/sq mi (44/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.paynecounty.org

Payne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater. The county was created in 1890 as part of Oklahoma Territory and is named for Capt. David L. Payne, a leader of the "Boomers".

Payne County comprises the Stillwater, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county lies northeast of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area though many consider it an extension of the Oklahoma City metro area due to commuter patterns and other indicators.

History

This county was established and named as the Sixth County by the Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890. It included land settled during the Land Run of 1889. The Organic Act settled a dispute between the towns of Stillwater and Perkins over which should be the county seat.

Eastern Oklahoma Railway built two lines in Payne County between 1900 and 1902, then immediately leased them to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed into Payne County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 697 square miles (1,810 km²), of which 685 square miles (1,770 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (1.8%) is water.

Payne County is covered by rolling plains, mostly within the Sandstone Hills physiographic region, but with the western part of the county in the Red Bed plains. The county has two significant reservoirs: McMurtry Lake and Carl Blackwell Lake. The Cimarron River and Stillwater Creek drain most of the county.

Major Highways

• Interstate 35
• U.S. Highway 177
• U.S. Highway 412
• State Highway 18
• State Highway 33
• State Highway 51
• State Highway 86
• State Highway 99
• State Highway 108

Airport

• KSWO - Stillwater Regional Airport

Adjacent counties

• Noble County (northwest)
• Pawnee County (northeast)
• Creek County (east)
• Lincoln County (south)
• Logan County (southwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	7,215		—
1900	20,909		189.8%
1910	23,735		13.5%
1920	30,180		27.2%
1930	36,905		22.3%
1940	36,057		−2.3%
1950	46,430		28.8%
1960	44,231		−4.7%
1970	50,654		14.5%
1980	62,435		23.3%
1990	61,507		−1.5%
2000	68,190		10.9%
2010	77,350		13.4%
Est. 2014	80,264		3.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

Age pyramid for Payne County, Oklahoma, based on census 2000 data.

As of the census of 2000, there were 68,190 people, 26,680 households, and 15,314 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile (38/km²). There were 29,326 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.33% White, 3.63% Black or African American, 4.58% Native American, 3.00% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 3.64% from two or more races. 2.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 26,680 households out of which 25.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.60% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.60% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out with 19.60% under the age of 18, 25.90% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 17.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 103.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,733, and the median income for a family was $40,823. Males had a median income of $31,132 versus $21,113 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,983. About 10.80% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.00% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 15, 2012
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	16,610	42.69%
	Republican	18,467	47.46%
	Unaffiliated	4,901	9.85%
Total		38,910	100%

Presidential election results

Year	Republican	Democrat
2008	63.49% 18,435	36.51% 10,601
2004	65.95% 19,560	34.05% 10,101
2000	61.15% 15,256	37.36% 9,319

Economy

Agriculture was the basis of the county economy for more than fifty years. The primary crops were cotton, corn and wheat.

World War II caused hundreds of students at Oklahoma A & M to leave school for military service. To offset this loss to the local economy, civic and college leaders, to lobby military leaders and Oklahoma Senator, Mike Monroney, to have the school designated as a war training center. This resulted in the establishment of twelve training programs for the Navy, with nearly 40,000 people.

The wartime experience showed local political leaders that it would be essential to diversify the county's economic base. They formed an Industrial Foundation to attract manufacturing plants and industrial jobs. This effort succeeded and accelerated an increase in population.

Education

"Old Central", first building constructed for Oklahoma A&M College, ca. 1894

Educational entities located in Payne County include:

• Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
• Oklahoma State University-Stillwater
• Northern Oklahoma College

Communities

Cities

• Cushing
• Perkins
• Stillwater (county seat)
• Yale

Towns

• Glencoe
• Ripley

Unincorporated communities

• Ingalls
• Mehan
• Oak Grove
• Quay
• Vinco
• Yost Lake

NRHP sites

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

The following sites in Payne County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

James E. Berry House, Stillwater Campus Fire Station, Stillwater Citizens Bank Building (Stillwater, Oklahoma), Stillwater Cottonwood Community Center, Stillwater Cushing American Legion Building, Cushing Cushing Armory, Cushing William Frick House, Stillwater Hoke Building, Stillwater Hopkins Sandstone House and Farmstead, Ripley Irvings Castle, Ingalls Josephine Reifsnyder Lustron House, Stillwater Magruder Plots, Stillwater Murphy House, Stillwater Oklahoma A & M College Agronomy Barn and Seed House, Stillwater Old Central, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Payne County Courthouse, Stillwater Perkins Downtown Historic District, Perkins Pleasant Valley School, Stillwater Selph Building, Stillwater Stillwater Santa Fe Depot, Stillwater Jim Thorpe House, Yale Walker Building, Stillwater

Other landmarks include:

• Allen Williamson Bridge - Memorial bridge near Ripley, named after the Oklahoma Representative Allen Williamson.

External links

• Payne County Government's website
• Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory