Tillman County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southwestern part of

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. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,992. The county seat is Frederick.

History

The Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 established a reservation in the southwestern part of Indian Territory for the Kiowa, Apache and Comanche tribes. The Jerome Commission started enrolling members of these tribes in 1892, a prerequisite to opening "excess" land for settlement by non-Indians. The first lottery was held on August 6, 1901. It was followed in 1906 by the "Big Pasture" Lottery.Wilson, Linda D
"Tillman County,"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 5, 2015. The county was founded at the time of Oklahoma statehood in 1907, and was named for Senator

Benjamin Tillman Benjamin Ryan Tillman (August 11, 1847 – July 3, 1918) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator from 1895 until his death in 1918. A whi ...

of South Carolina. It had previously been part of Comanche County, Oklahoma Territory. Frederick was designated as the county seat at the time of statehood. In 1910 and 1924 portions of Kiowa County were added to the north side of the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.9%) are covered by water. It is located along the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

border.

Adjacent counties

* Kiowa County (north) * Comanche County (northeast) * Cotton County (east) *

Wichita County, Texas Wichita County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 129,350. The county seat is Wichita Falls. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1882. Wichita County is part of the Wichit ...

(south) *

Wilbarger County, Texas Wilbarger County ( ) is a county located in the North Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,887. The county seat is Vernon. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1881. Wilbar ...

(southwest) * Jackson County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, there were 7,992 people, 3,216 households, and 2,136 families residing in the county. 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 3.5/km² (9.1/mi²). There were 4,077 housing units at an average density of 1.8/km² (4.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.5%

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 ...

, 7.7%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

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 ...

, 3.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, less than 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 11% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Just over 23% of the population was

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino. There were 3,216 households, out of which 31.5% included children under the age of 18, 48.8% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.6% were non-families. Individuals living alone accounted for 30.3% of households and individuals age 65 years or older living alone accounted for 14%. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.96. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,437, and the median income for a family was $40,616. Males had a median income of $32,885 versus $29,757 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 county was $16,541. Sixteen percent of families and 21.7% 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 30.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Since statehood, Tillman County's economy has depended mainly on agriculture, including the raising of livestock. The main farm crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sorghum and milo (a variety of commercial sorghum). Many farms have consolidated throughout the 20th century, from 1,724 in 1930 to 587 in 2000; however, the average size increased from to during the same period. Cattle ranching became prominent during the 1880s, when prominent Texas ranchers (principally Daniel and William Thomas Waggoner and Samuel Burk Burnett) leased grazing land from the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes. The U.S. military established Frederick Army Air Field in 1941 to train crews to fly Cessna UC-78 Bobcats and

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

s. After the war, the former base became a civilian airfield and is now known as

Frederick Regional Airport Frederick Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Frederick, a city in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. It was formerly known as Freder ...

Politics

Communities

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

* Frederick (county seat) * Grandfield * Hollister * Loveland * Manitou *

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

References

External links

Tillman County Website

Lyrics to 'Tillman County' by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control 1907 establishments in Oklahoma Populated places established in 1907 Benjamin Tillman