Big Cabin, Oklahoma
October 24, 2022
The takeaway -- a terrible drought. This is the first time I have seen bare ground where cows and horses are grazing.
Bluejacket, Oklahoma
Bluejacket is a town in eastern Craig County, Oklahoma. The population was 339 at the 2010 census, an increase of 23.7 percent over the figure of 274 recorded in 2000. Bluejacket was named for its first postmaster, the Rev. Charles Blue Jacket, one-time chief of the Shawnee and grandson of noted leader Blue Jacket.
Bluejacket was founded as a station designated by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (KATY) in 1871, as it built a line through Indian Territory from Kansas to Texas. A post office was established in 1882, and Chief Bluejacket was appointed as the first postmaster. The town was incorporated in the Cherokee Nation in 1894.
During the late 1930s, two tornadoes severely damaged Bluejacket. The first, on May 4, 1938, destroyed some barns and killed a farmer and several head of livestock. The second, on August 24, 1939, destroyed much of the business district. This storm killed two young men and caused an estimated half million dollars' worth of damage in the county.
In the census of 2000, there were 274 people, 99 households, and 69 families residing in the town. The population density was 692.2 inhabitants per square mile (267.3/km2). There were 112 housing units at an average density of 283.0 per square mile (109.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 66.42% White, 18.25% Native American, 1.09% African American, and 14.23% from two or more races.
There were 99 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $26,458, and the median income for a family was $33,250. Males had a median income of $26,000 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,755. About 11.3% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 30.6% of those 65 or over.
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita was founded in 1870 by Elias Cornelius Boudinot. In 1889, gunman and lawman Tom Threepersons was born there. It was the first city in the state with electricity. The city was first named "Downingville", and was a primarily Native American community. It was later renamed "Vinita" after Boudinot's friend, sculptor Vinnie Ream. The city was incorporated in Indian Territory in 1898.
Vinita is along the path of the Texas Road cattle trail, and the later Jefferson Highway of the early National Trail System, both roughly along the route of U.S. Route 69 through Oklahoma today.
The First National Bank opened in 1892, and the local Masonic Lodge was founded in 1894. Newspapers founded before the turn of the 20th Century included Vinita Indian Chieftain (1882), Vinita Leader (1885) and the Daily Indian Chieftain (1899). The Vinita Daily Journal began publication in 1907 and has continued into the 21st Century.
Eastern State Hospital, a state mental health facility, was constructed in 1912 and admitted the first patients in January 1913. It was one of the county's largest employers until its operations were reduced during the 1990s.
A McDonald's bridge-restaurant built over the top of Interstate 44, called the "Will Rogers Archway", is the world's largest McDonald's restaurant in terms of area, occupying 29,135 square feet.
Early in its history, cattle ranching in the surrounding countryside contributed heavily to Vinita's economy. When Craig County was created at statehood, Vinita was designated as the county seat. City and county governments became significant employers. In 1935, the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) was created. GRDA put its headquarters in Vinita. It is still one of the largest employers in the city, along with two of its many customers: Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma Electric Company (KAMO) and Northeast Oklahoma Electric Co-op. Other important employers have included trucking companies, tower-building companies, Munsingwear, General Mills, Cinch, Dana Industries, and Hope Industries.
Big Cabin, Oklahoma
Big Cabin is a town in Craig County, Oklahoma. The population was 265 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 9.6 percent from the figure of 293 recorded in 2000.
The town was named for a local landmark, a plank cabin, that existed near the place where the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway built a switch in 1871–2. The first post office in this part of Indian Territory opened in 1872. (though it was not named Big Cabin until 1892). Some entrepreneurs built a stockyard in the town in 1888. The first two-story frame building was constructed in 1892. In 1892 the Post Office Department assigned a postal designation to Big Cabin. A school for non-Indian children began in 1895. The railroad built a depot in 1903.
Big Cabin was platted as a town in 1904. It began the process to incorporate in 1926, but did not finish the task until 1958. Meanwhile, the area around Big Cabin became noted for producing hay. A local resident claimed that the town had shipped out more hay between 1893 and 1910 than any other town in the U.S. He claimed that Big Cabin was "the Hay Capital of the World."
Revenue through traffic citations
In 2004 Big Cabin raised nearly three-fourths of its revenue from traffic citations for speeding. The state of Oklahoma enacted a law in 2004 that penalizes towns where the citation revenue exceeds 50% of the annual budget. As a result of a complaint filed by a local business, Oklahoma's Department of Public Safety designated the town a speed trap, and prohibited the town's officers from writing traffic tickets for six months. The police department maintained that enforcement lowered the annual rate of traffic deaths.[9]
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