Dibble is a town in McClain County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, United States. The population of the town was 867 at the 2020 census. Dibble is in the

Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in Central Oklahoma. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Oklahoma City Metr ...

, according to the U.S. Census, within the outer suburban area west of

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

and southwest of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

History

Located in western McClain County, for much of the nineteenth century the site of the present community existed in the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

's Pontotoc County. According to historian George Shirk, John and James Dibble operated a ranch in the area and contributed their name to the town and to the creek that flows through it. The ranch lay on the Fort Smith to

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

military road and served as a stopping point for soldiers and travelers. The village may have been in existence as early as 1869, and the Post Office Department designated a Dibble post office in 1894 with Horatio Orem as postmaster. In 1901 the ''Gazetteer and Business Directory of Indian Territory'' reported that Dibble had one hundred residents, a hotel, a grocery store, a general store, a blacksmith, a doctor, and three stockmen. Ranching served as the early economic staple, soon followed by farming. In 1902 J. T. Payne platted the townsite, which the

Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

approved in November of that year, withholding the land from the Chickasaw allotment process. In 1906, after the Oklahoma Central Railway failed to build through the town, placing its tracks north at Blanchard, the town lost many of its burgeoning businesses. The town's school system was first established in 1907. In 1911 Polk's ''Oklahoma Gazetteer'' estimated the population of Dibble at 150 and listed two general stores, a confectioner, a blacksmith, a doctor, and a drugstore. In 1918 the population dropped to 125, but the town had added a gristmill, a cotton gin, and a feed store, reflecting the emphasis on farming. In 1926 the post office discontinued. In 1936 the Works Progress Administration built an addition to the school, which educated children from the surrounding region. In 1937 State Highway 39 was completed adjacent to the community, allowing the school district to annex outlying rural schools. Also in 1937 the town incorporated, and in 1940 the population stood at 97. The school, area petroleum drilling, and agriculture supported Dibble for much of the twentieth century. In 1953 another post office began operation. The 1960 population was 127, climbing to 184 in 1970. In 1990 the town had 181 residents, which rose to 289 in 2000. That year there were 568 students enrolled in the Dibble School District. By 2010 the town had bloomed to 878 residents.

Geography

Dibble is in western McClain County, west of

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, the same distance east of

Chickasha Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,051 at the 2020 census, a 0.1% increase from 2010. The city is named for and strongly connected to Native American heritage, as "Chicka ...

, and south of Oklahoma City. The town is located along

State Highway 39 The following highways are numbered 39. For a list of roads called ''N39'', see List of N39 roads. Australia * Newell Highway * Goulburn Valley Highway * **Gore Highway **Leichhardt Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 39 * British Columbia High ...

just east of the State Highway 76 junction. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town of Dibble has a total area of , of which , or 1.85%, are water. Dibble Creek drains the center and northern parts of town, flowing east to join Walnut Creek near

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Walnut Creek is a tributary of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

watershed. The southern portion of Dibble is drained by Criner Creek, which flows southeast to the

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River of the South, Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geogra ...

near Maysville. The Washita is part of the Red River watershed.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 289 people, 111 households, and 84 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 120 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.93%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.88%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, and 5.19% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.38% of the population. There were 111 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,781, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $14,286 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,609. About 10.6% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 7.0% of those 65 or over.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Dibble
{{authority control Towns in McClain County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma