Adair County, Oklahoma
Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,495.[1] Its county seat is Stilwell.[2] Adair County was named after the Adair family of the Cherokee tribe.[3] One source says that the county was specifically named for Watt Adair, one of the first Cherokees to settle in the area.[4] Adair County is part of the Cherokee Nation reservation.
History
[edit | edit source]The county was created in 1906 from the Goingsnake and Flint districts of the Cherokee Nation.[5] There was a decade-long struggle over what town would become the county seat between Stilwell and Westville.[6] When the county was formed, Westville was identified as the county seat, due partly to its location at the intersection of two major railroads: the Kansas City Southern Railway and the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway.[7] The county seat was moved to Stilwell in 1910.[8]
During the Great Depression and World War II, strawberries became a major crop in Adair County. In 1948, the first Stilwell Strawberry Festival was organized. The 2002 festival saw some 40,000 people in attendance.[6]
The 1910 census counted 10,535 residents.[5] By 1990, it was up to 18,421.[5]
Geography
[edit | edit source]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 577 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 573 square miles (1,480 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (0.6%) is water.[9]
The county is part of the Ozark plateau uplift, the tree-covered foothills of the Boston Mountains.[5] North and central Adair County are drained by the Illinois River and three creeks.[5] Two more creeks lie near Stilwell.[5]
Major highways
[edit | edit source]- File:US 59.svg U.S. Highway 59
- File:US 62.svg U.S. Highway 62
- File:Oklahoma State Highway 51.svg State Highway 51
Adjacent counties
[edit | edit source]- Delaware County (north)
- Benton County, Arkansas (northeast)
- Washington County, Arkansas (east)
- Crawford County, Arkansas (southeast)
- Sequoyah County (south)
- Cherokee County (west)
National protected area
[edit | edit source]Demographics
[edit | edit source]| Race (NH = Non-Hispanic) | 2020[10] | 2010[11] | 2000[12] | 1990[13] | 1980[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 38.3% (7,464) |
42.1% (9,558) |
47.7% (10,035) |
55.2% (10,171) |
65.9% (12,235) |
| Black alone (NH) | 0.2% (40) |
0.2% (53) |
0.2% (33) |
0% (4) |
0% (0) |
| American Indian alone (NH) | 42.3% (8,240) |
42% (9,528) |
41.8% (8,793) |
43.3% (7,985) |
33% (6,128) |
| Asian alone (NH) | 0.8% (162) |
0.6% (129) |
0.1% (18) |
0.1% (12) |
0.2% (35) |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0.1% (12) |
0% (1) |
0% (5) | ||
| Other race alone (NH) | 0.1% (12) |
0% (7) |
0% (4) |
0% (4) |
0% (4) |
| Multiracial (NH) | 11.9% (2,313) |
9.7% (2,210) |
7.1% (1,493) |
— | — |
| Hispanic/Latino (any race) | 6.4% (1,252) |
5.3% (1,197) |
3.1% (657) |
1.3% (245) |
0.9% (173) |
2020 census
[edit | edit source]As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 19,495. Of the residents, 26.0% were under the age of 18 and 17.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 39.4 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.4 males.[15][16]
The racial makeup of the county was 39.2% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 44.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 2.3% from some other race, and 13.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.4% of the population.[16]
There were 7,076 households in the county, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[15]
There were 8,059 housing units, of which 12.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.0% were owner-occupied and 29.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.7%.[15]
In 2020, the most commonly reported ancestries were Cherokee (33.5%), Cherokee Nation (12.8%), English (10.2%), Irish (7.4%), German (6.2%), and Mexican (5.3%).[17]
2010 census
[edit | edit source]As of the census[18] of 2010, Adair County had a small population relative to its surrounding counties, with only 21,038 people, a large percentage of them, 43.3 percent, Native American. The remainder of the population was 43 percent white, 10.5 percent of more than one race, and 5.3 percent Hispanic or Latino. Less than 1 percent of the population was either Black or African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander, and 2.3 percent were identified as other. This makes it the only majority-minority county in Oklahoma. Adair county had a higher percentage of Native Americans (American Indians) in its population than any other Oklahoma county.[19]
The median age of the population was 36.2 years and two-thirds of the county's population were either under the age of 18 (28 percent) or between the ages of 25 and 44 (24.8 percent). Of the remaining population, 25.9 percent were ages 45 to 64, 12.9 percent were 65 years of age or older, and 13.2 percent were ages 18 to 24. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
There were a total of 8,156 households and 5,982 families in the county in 2010. There were 9,142 housing units. Of the 8,156 households, 31.4 percent included children under the age of 18 and slightly more than half (52.7 percent) included married couples living together. 26.7 percent were non-family, 14.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8 percent contained a single individual of 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.25.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,258, and the median income for a family was $32,930. Males had a median income of $28,370 versus $23,384 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,560. About 25.3 percent of families and 27.8 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.8 percent of those under age 18 and 18.7 percent of those age 65 or over.
Politics
[edit | edit source]| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of March 28, 2024[20] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
| Template:Party color cell | Democratic | 3,406 | 31.07% | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Republican | 5,885 | 53.68% | ||
| Template:Party color cell | Others | 1,672 | 15.25% | ||
| Total | 10,963 | 100% | |||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1908 | 782 | 47.86% | 825 | 50.49% | 27 | 1.65% |
| 1912 | 850 | 44.18% | 916 | 47.61% | 158 | 8.21% |
| 1916 | 1,010 | 41.72% | 1,190 | 49.15% | 221 | 9.13% |
| 1920 | 2,181 | 57.99% | 1,559 | 41.45% | 21 | 0.56% |
| 1924 | 2,317 | 51.63% | 1,942 | 43.27% | 229 | 5.10% |
| 1928 | 2,867 | 59.35% | 1,944 | 40.24% | 20 | 0.41% |
| 1932 | 1,941 | 33.74% | 3,812 | 66.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 2,699 | 45.19% | 3,257 | 54.54% | 16 | 0.27% |
| 1940 | 3,275 | 50.51% | 3,203 | 49.40% | 6 | 0.09% |
| 1944 | 2,792 | 50.18% | 2,760 | 49.60% | 12 | 0.22% |
| 1948 | 2,407 | 43.97% | 3,067 | 56.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 3,037 | 52.71% | 2,725 | 47.29% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 3,152 | 56.59% | 2,418 | 43.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,655 | 65.76% | 1,903 | 34.24% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 2,859 | 48.77% | 3,003 | 51.23% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 2,877 | 53.02% | 1,549 | 28.55% | 1,000 | 18.43% |
| 1972 | 4,720 | 73.12% | 1,601 | 24.80% | 134 | 2.08% |
| 1976 | 3,013 | 48.14% | 3,183 | 50.85% | 63 | 1.01% |
| 1980 | 3,429 | 54.08% | 2,761 | 43.54% | 151 | 2.38% |
| 1984 | 4,423 | 65.57% | 2,266 | 33.60% | 56 | 0.83% |
| 1988 | 3,558 | 57.02% | 2,624 | 42.05% | 58 | 0.93% |
| 1992 | 2,994 | 45.48% | 2,645 | 40.18% | 944 | 14.34% |
| 1996 | 2,956 | 45.33% | 2,792 | 42.82% | 773 | 11.85% |
| 2000 | 3,503 | 58.61% | 2,361 | 39.50% | 113 | 1.89% |
| 2004 | 4,971 | 65.99% | 2,562 | 34.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2008 | 4,638 | 69.33% | 2,052 | 30.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2012 | 4,381 | 67.32% | 2,127 | 32.68% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2016 | 4,787 | 73.50% | 1,382 | 21.22% | 344 | 5.28% |
| 2020 | 5,585 | 78.57% | 1,387 | 19.51% | 136 | 1.91% |
| 2024 | 5,860 | 80.76% | 1,289 | 17.76% | 107 | 1.47% |
| 2016 | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% |
Although most Native American counties tend to skew Democratic, the Cherokee Nation - which Adair County is a part of - has tended to be deeply Republican at the federal level for most its existence, though Southern Democrats have occasionally taken it in strong election years such as 1964 and 1976. No Democrat has won Adair County since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Economy
[edit | edit source]The county is home to food processing and canning industries; poultry farms; cattle ranches; horse breeders; dog breeders, and strawberry fields.[22]
Communities
[edit | edit source]
City
[edit | edit source]- Stilwell (county seat)
Towns
[edit | edit source]Census-designated places
[edit | edit source]Other unincorporated places
[edit | edit source]NRHP sites
[edit | edit source]The following sites in Adair County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
- Adair County Courthouse, Stilwell
- Breadtown, Westville vicinity
- Ballard Creek Roadbed, Westville vicinity
- Buffington Hotel, Westville
- Golda's Mill, Stilwell
- Opera Block, Westville
- Rev. Jesse Bushyhead Grave, Westville
Education
[edit | edit source]K-12 school districts include:[23]
Elementary school districts include:[23]
In 2010 the Bell Public School school district ceased operations, with area taken by the Belfonte and Stilwell school districts.[24]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]| File:Commons-logo.svg | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adair County, Oklahoma. |
- ↑ "Adair County, Oklahoma". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ↑ Oklahoma Almanac Online (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Libraries.
- ↑ "Stilwell is part of 'Green County Oklahoma'"" Archived February 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 14, 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Whitaker, Rachel. "Adair County". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Barker, Betty Starr. "Stilwell". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- ↑ Hill, Luther B. (1910). A History of the State of Oklahoma. I. The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 470.
- ↑ Oklahoma Almanac 2005
- ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ↑ "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2020)". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
- ↑ "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2010)". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
- ↑ Oklahoma: 2000 (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. pp. 52–53.
- ↑ Oklahoma: 1990 (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 11.
- ↑ General Social and Economic Characteristics: Oklahoma (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 31.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
- ↑ "Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census". census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
- ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Oklahoma American Indian and Alaska Native Population by County". Indexmundi. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ↑ "Voter Registration Totals". OK Elections Interactive Statistics Beta. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ↑ Adair, Oklahoma Almanac, 2005 (accessed May 22, 2013)
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Geography Division (December 22, 2020). 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Adair County, OK (PDF) (Map). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2025. - Text list
- ↑ Adcock, Clifton (June 24, 2010). "Bell Public Schools to close". Tulsa World. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
External links
[edit | edit source]- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Adair County
- Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
- Oklahoma Almanac, 2005 - Adair County
Template:Geographic Location Template:Adair County, Oklahoma Template:NRHP in Adair County Template:Oklahoma