Armstrong is a town in Bryan County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, United States, along the Blue River. The population was 105 at the 2010 census, a 25.2 percent decrease from the figure of 141 recorded in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. The town was named for Frank C. Armstrong, a member of the

Dawes Commission The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893. Its purpose was to convince the Five Civilized Tribes to agree to cede tribal title of I ...

.O'Dell, Larry
"Armstrong,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 15, 2015.

History

The town of Armstrong began along the route of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy) in 1872. At the time of Armstrong's founding it was located in Blue County of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

. The town had a post office in 1882–3, but thereafter the mail was sent to

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...

. In 1896, another post office opened in Armstrong, but it was closed in 1920. The post office was located in the only grocery store, and the store owner was also the postmaster. In 1911, the population was 41."History of the Towns and Cities of Bryan County, Oklahoma."
Genealogy Trails. 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014. The Oklahoma Office of the Game Warden (now the Department of Wildlife Conservation) established a fish hatchery in the town about 1916. Otherwise the town survived economically by serving small farms in the area and catering to the needs of sport fishermen who were attracted to the Blue River and nearby Lake Texoma, By 1980, the town had 133 residents. The population dropped to 122 in 1990, then rose to 141 in 2000. It dropped again, and was 105 in 2010.

Geography

Armstrong is located at (34.052530, -96.344193). It is north of Durant. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 105 people living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 1,638.3 people per square mile (604.9/km²). There were 60 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 70.21%

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

, 0.71%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 21.99% Native American, and 7.09% from two or more races. There were 54 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were

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

living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 2.8% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,292, and the median income for a family was $30,556. Males had a median income of $20,833 versus $18,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $12,765. There were 5.6% of families and 16.2% of the population living 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 none under 18 and 25.0% of those over 64.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Armstrong
{{authority control Towns in Bryan County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma