Lincoln County is a county in eastern Central Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. Its county seat is Chandler. Lincoln County is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. In 2010, the center of population of Oklahoma was in Lincoln County, near the town of Sparks.

History The United States purchased the large tract of land known as the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. Washington Irving, Charles J. Latrobe, and Count Albert de Pourtalès accompanied Henry L. Ellsworth and others on an expedition in Indian Territory that may have passed through the far northwestern corner of the future Lincoln County.

The Osage hunted on land that includes present-day Lincoln County until they ceded the area in an 1825 treaty to the federal government. The government then assigned the land to the Creek and the Seminoles after they were removed from the southeastern United States. Following Quapaw removal in 1834, several small groups of Quapaw dispersed throughout Indian Territory. There were absentee groups of Quapaw living along the Red River and in Creek, Choctaw and Cherokee territory. There is a "Quapaw Creek" in the southern half of Lincoln County which was a village site for one of these absentee groups of Quapaw. After the Civil War in 1866, the Creek and Seminoles were forced to give up lands that included present-day Lincoln County in Reconstruction Treaties for siding with the Confederacy.

The federal government then used the area to resettle the Sac and Fox, Potawatomi, Kickapoo and Ioway tribes. Established in 1870, the Sac and Fox agency, established on the eastern edge of the present-day county, was the first settlement in the area.

In 1890, the Jerome Commission negotiated with the tribes of the area such that they agreed to allotment of their reservation lands, except for the Kickapoo. Indian lands were allotted to individual tribal members and the excess were opened to white settlement in the Land Run of 1891. A separate land run was held later that year for the townsite of the predesignated county seat, Chandler. Lincoln County was organized and designated as County A. In 1895, the Kickapoo agreed to allotment and the land was claimed by settlers during the Land Run of 1895.

The voters chose the name Lincoln County for County A in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, selecting it over the names Sac, Fox, and Springer.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. The county is drained by the Deep Fork of the Canadian River. The eastern part of the county lies in the Cross Timbers and the Sandstone Hills, while the western part is in the Red Bed Plains.

Major highways Interstate 44 U.S. Highway 62 U.S. Highway 177 U.S. Highway 377 State Highway 18 State Highway 66 State Highway 99 State Highway 102

Adjacent counties Payne County (north) Creek County (northeast) Okfuskee County (southeast) Pottawatomie County (south) Oklahoma County (southwest) Logan County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 33,458. Of the residents, 24.0% were under the age of 18 and 19.1% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.4 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 79.3% White, 1.8% Black or African American, 7.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 1.1% from some other race, and 10.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.4% of the population.

There were 12,954 households in the county, of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 14,456 housing units, of which 10.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.8% were owner-occupied and 22.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.7%.

2000 census As of the 2000 census, 32,080 people, 12,178 households, and 9,121 families resided in the county. The population density was . There were 13,712 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 86.43% White, 2.46% Black or African American, 6.57% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 3.82% from two or more races. 1.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 12,178 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 22.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.40% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males.

The county's median household income was $31,187, and the median family income was $36,310. Males had a median income of $28,647 versus $20,099 for females. The county's per capita income was $14,890. About 11.10% of families and 14.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.90% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023 Party Number of Voters Percentage Democratic 4,241 20.82% Republican 13,058 64.11% Unaffiliated 3,068 15.06% Total 20,367 100%

United States Congress Senators Name Party First Elected Level  Senate Class 1 Markwayne Mullin Republican 2022 Junior Senator  Senate Class 2 James Lankford Republican 2014 Senior Senator Representatives Name Party First Elected  District 3 Frank Lucas Republican 1994

Oklahoma Senate District Name Party First Elected Hometown  28 Zack Taylor Republican 2020 Seminole

Oklahoma House of Representatives District Name Party First Elected Hometown  32 Kevin Wallace Republican 2014 Wellston

Economy The county economy has largely depended on agriculture. Cotton almost immediately became the dominant crop after white settlement. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Lincoln County was one of the top two counties producing cotton in Oklahoma. By the end of the Great Depression the economy had become more diversified. Oil furnished one-third of county tax revenue, and cattle raising and pecan growing became important income sources. By the turn of the 21st Century, the county economy had diversified and was based primarily on professional services, small businesses, and service industries.

Communities

Cities Chandler (County seat) Prague Stroud

Towns

Agra Carney Davenport Fallis Kendrick Meeker Sparks Tryon Warwick Wellston

Unincorporated communities Arlington Jacktown Midlothian Parkland Payson Rossville Willzetta

Ghost town

Avery

Education K-12 school districts include: - Text list Agra Independent School District Carney Public Schools Chandler Public Schools Cushing Public Schools Davenport Public Schools Harrah Public Schools Luther Public Schools McLoud Public Schools Meeker Public Schools Paden Public Schools Perkins-Tryon Public Schools Prague Public Schools Stroud Public Schools Wellston Public Schools

Elementary school districts include: Oak Grove Public School White Rock Public School

Notable people Roy Harris (1898 - 1979), composer, born near Chandler; Carl Hubbell (1903 - 1988), U.S. major league baseball pitcher lived in Meeker; James Brooks Ayers Robertson (1871 - 1938), Oklahoma governor 1919–1923, lived and buried in Chandler; Jim Thorpe (1888 - 1953), American athlete, attended Sac and Fox agency school in Lincoln County. Roy J. Turner (1894 - 1973), Oklahoma governor 1947–1953, born in Kendrick.

NRHP sites

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

Bon Ton House, Stroud Boston Store, Chandler Captain Creek Bridge, Wellston Joseph Carpenter House, Stroud Chandler Armory, Chandler Chandler Bookstore, Chandler Chandler High School, Chandler Clapp-Cunningham Building, Chandler Conklin House, Chandler Crane Motor Company Building, Chandler Crescent School, Meeker Davenport Broadway Avenue Brick Street, Davenport Fairview School, Meeker First Presbyterian Church of Chandler, Chandler Graham Hotel, Stroud Walter Hadley House, Stroud Hotel Lincoln, Stroud George Hughes House, Stroud Johnson House, Chandler Moses Keokuk House, Stroud Mascho Building and Public Privy, Chandler Meeker Town Hall, Meeker William Alfred Mensch Building, Stroud Midlothian School, Midlothian National Guard Statistical Building, Chandler Oleson-Crane Building, Chandler Ozark Trails Section of Route 66, Stroud Prague City Hall and Jail, Prague Rock Café, Stroud Seaba's Filling Station, Warwick Southwestern Bell Telephone Building, Stroud Spring Dell School, Meeker St. Cloud Hotel, Chandler St. Paul Baptist Church and Cemetery, Meeker St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Chandler Old Stroud School, Stroud Stroud Trading Company Building, Stroud James W. Stroud House, Stroud Marshal William M. Tilghman Homestead, Chandler Warwick School, Warwick Wolcott Building, Chandler ZCBJ Lodge No. 46, Prague

References

External links Lincoln County website