Atwood, Oklahoma

Atwood, Oklahoma
Town
Location of Atwood, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 34°57′25″N 96°20′13″W / 34.95694°N 96.33694°WCoordinates: 34°57′25″N 96°20′13″W / 34.95694°N 96.33694°W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Hughes
Area
• Total	0.4 sq mi (1.2 km^2)
• Land	0.4 sq mi (1.2 km^2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km^2)
Elevation	801 ft (244 m)
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	74
• Density	190/sq mi (62/km^2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	74827
Area code(s)	580
FIPS code	40-03350[2]
GNIS feature ID	1089752[3]

Atwood is a town in Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 74 at the 2010 census.^[1]

History

Named for Chester C. Atwood, an early settler of what would later become Hughes County, Oklahoma, an educated farmer, extensive area landowner, and elected Commissioner of Hughes County.

Chester Atwood was born in July 1862 in Central Texas, to natives of Tennessee who migrated to Texas before the American Civil War. In 1881, Atwood, left Texas for the Mushulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. Settling in western Tobucksy County, some 28 miles (45 km) west of a pioneer general store owned by J.J. McAlester, Atwood in 1882 married a young woman named Patsy Ann, of the Choctaw Nation, giving him settlement rights by marriage. By 1885 he was farming 25 acres (100,000 m²) of what later would become eastern Hughes County, and was enumerated in the Choctaw Nation census of that year.

Population growth in the community near the Atwood farm brought a Post Office designation January 23, 1897, with Newburg as the assigned name and Henry S. Halloway established as Postmaster.

By 1900, Chester Atwood had increased his land holdings and his family included wife Patsy Ann (familiarly called Mattie), daughters Ottie (b. 1883) and Arrie (b. 1886), son Bennie (b. 1887), daughter Allie (b. 1889), son Coleman (b. 1891), and daughters Lizzie (b. 1893) and Ambrozia (b. 1895). Two other children born after 1900 died before reaching adulthood.

At statehood, county lines in place under the Choctaw Nation were redrawn, and that portion of Tobucksy County in which Newburg lay, fell inside the new boundary of Hughes County. On December 3, 1909, two years after Oklahoma statehood, the town of Newburg was renamed Atwood, honoring Chester C. Atwood as one of the significant pioneer members of the community.

Atwood served as an elected Commissioner of Hughes County, and son Coleman Atwood worked as a local banker before moving to Holdenville during the Depression. Chester C. Atwood died after 1930.

The post office in Atwood was slated for possible closure by the US Postal service in 2012.^[4]

Geography

Atwood is located at 34°57′25″N 96°20′13″W / 34.95694°N 96.33694°W (34.956977, -96.336816).^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²), all of it land.

Climate

Climate data for Atwood, Oklahoma
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	49.7 (9.8)	55.3 (12.9)	64.6 (18.1)	74 (23)	80.4 (26.9)	87.7 (30.9)	93.7 (34.3)	93.9 (34.4)	85.6 (29.8)	76 (24)	63.1 (17.3)	52.6 (11.4)	73.1 (22.8)
Average low °F (°C)	27.0 (−2.8)	31.6 (−0.2)	40.3 (4.6)	50.2 (10.1)	58.3 (14.6)	65.9 (18.8)	70.1 (21.2)	69.0 (20.6)	62.1 (16.7)	51.2 (10.7)	40.7 (4.8)	30.9 (−0.6)	49.8 (9.9)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	1.4 (36)	2.0 (51)	3.3 (84)	4.0 (102)	5.4 (137)	3.7 (94)	2.8 (71)	2.5 (64)	4.1 (104)	4.2 (107)	3.0 (76)	2.0 (51)	38.3 (973)
Source: Weatherbase.com [6]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	439		—
1980	461		5.0%
1990	369		−20.0%
2000	113		−69.4%
2010	74		−34.5%
Est. 2014	72	[7]	−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the census of 2010, there were 74 people residing in the town.^[1] The population density was 253.8 people per square mile (97.0/km²). There were 65 housing units at an average density of 146.0 per square mile (55.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.42% White, 7.96% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 4.42% from other races, and 5.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.19% of the population.

There were 47 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 151.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $29,167, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $38,125 versus $9,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,040. There were 13.3% of families and 20.4% of the population living below the poverty line, including 46.7% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

References

1. "2010 City Population and Housing Occupancy Status". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
2. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
5. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
6. "Historical Weather for Atwood, Oklahoma, United States".
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

External links

• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Atwood