Minco, Oklahoma

Minco, Oklahoma
—  City  —
Location of Minco, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 35°18′56″N 97°56′45″W / 35.31556°N 97.94583°W / 35.31556; -97.94583Coordinates: 35°18′56″N 97°56′45″W / 35.31556°N 97.94583°W / 35.31556; -97.94583
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Grady
Area
- Total	12.3 sq mi (31.8 km2)
- Land	12.3 sq mi (31.7 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,296 ft (395 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,672
- Density	136.5/sq mi (52.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	73059
Area code(s)	405
FIPS code	40-48750[1]
GNIS feature ID	1095428[2]

Minco is a city in Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,672 at the 2000 census.

History

The town was originally included in the Chickasaw Nation, and is believed to be named after the great Chickasaw chief and warrior, Itawamba Minco, who later acquired the name of Levi Colbert. A county in Mississippi is named after the chief who resided in nearby Monroe county near Cotton Gin Port.^[3]

C.B. Campbell

Minco was originally settled sometime around 1890, several years before Oklahoma achieved statehood. In its early stages it was a very busy town because of its location at the end of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Co. until the railroad was extended further south two years later.^[4] Charles B. Campbell owned the occupancy rights of the land that the town was built on. His wife was Miss Maggie (Margaret) Williams, a daughter of W. G. (Caddo Bill) Williams, owner of the Half Moon Ranch, who started Silver City in 1872 by building a trading store for those cattlemen driving their herds of cattle up the Chisholm Trail.^[4]

The Rock Island Railroad Co.'s original purpose in extending the railroad to Minco was to provide a gateway for the shipping of cattle from the grazing lands of the Chickasaw Nation, just to the south of the town. On August 4, 1901 the Chickasaw Nation's land was opened to white settlement, in turn making Minco a railroad hub for the entire region.^[4]

Commemorative plaque for Meta Chestnutt

On October 14, 1901, local citizens formed a company for the purpose of selling vacant lots in the town to encourage settlement. It was known as the Minco Townsite and Investment Company.^[4]

The town was originally composed mainly of merchants who provided supplies for the many travelers that used the railroad infrastructure of the town. It is the oldest town in the Western part of Oklahoma so its many businesses served residents for many miles around. In fact, the Hardware Store and Tin Shop originally opened by Kirk Woodworth in 1891 is still in existence in the town. The remains of some of the hotels that were used by the many temporary residents also still stand along its Main Street.^[4]

In September 1894 Meta Chestnutt, a teacher from North Carolina determined to bring education to the frontier (specifically Indians), along with the services of J.H. Bond, established the El Meta Bond College, one of the first of its kind in the area. The college offered elementary, grammar, and high school courses along with some music and drama courses. Having faced economic troubles for the whole of its existence it was eventually decommissioned in 1920 due to decreasing enrollment sine the arrival of newer educational institutions that came with statehood. After the demolition of the old school building a modern masonry armory was constructed in 1936 and still stands today and serves as a community gathering center. There is also a community park occupying part of the old campus. In this park there is a plaque commemorating Meta Chestnutt and her contributions to the school.^[5]

The Minco Historical Society recently established a museum to exhibit the numerous historical facts associated with the town.

Minco currently has one weekly newspaper, 'The Minco Millennium', which began publication in the summer of 1998. It is the only newspaper of general circulation maintaining an office in Minco. ^[6]

Minco's earlier newspapers and years of publication since origin are as follows:

• Minco Minstrel 1890-1897, 190?-1916, 1921–1999
• Minco Monitor 1892-1899
• Minco Weekly 1899-1900
• Minco Herald 1916-1921 (note this time period fills in the Minstrel gap)

Microfilm copies of these papers are available at the Oklahoma Historical Society building, south of the state capital, on the second floor.

Geography

Minco is located at 35°18′56″N 97°56′45″W / 35.31556°N 97.94583°W / 35.31556; -97.94583 (35.315552, -97.945698)^[7].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 square miles (32 km²), of which, 12.2 square miles (32 km²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.

When you enter town a sign reads: "Welcome to Minco, The Land of Milk and Honey". It is based on the town having a large number of dairy farmers and Oklahoma's largest beekeeping company, Gibson-Ross Clover Bloom Honey. Every first Saturday of December the town brings in thousands of tourists to the Christmas Honey Festival. Jim Ross, owner of the Ross Honey Company, gives tours all day and shows the entire honey production process.

A musical tour of the town by comic Lucas Ross can be seen here.^[8]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,672 people, 658 households, and 467 families residing in the city. The population density was 136.5 people per square mile (52.7/km²). There were 714 housing units at an average density of 58.3 per square mile (22.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.99% White, 0.06% African American, 3.11% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 2.33% from other races, and 2.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.47% of the population.

There were 658 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,098, and the median income for a family was $40,223. Males had a median income of $30,357 versus $22,426 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,331. About 9.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Minco Community Page". http://www.minco-ok.com/minco/. Retrieved 2008-12-14. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} GG Williams (1969). "Do You Remember When?". http://files.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/newspapers/remember.txt. Retrieved 2008-12-14. 
5. ^ Ralph Marsh (Monday, June 3, 1958). "'Chickasha Daily Express'". http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~minco/fotos/el_meta_bond_college.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-14. 
6. ^ minconews.com
7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQAuyx98oME