Johnston County, Oklahoma

Johnston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,272. Its county seat is Tishomingo. It was established at statehood on November 16, 1907, and named for Douglas H. Johnston, a governor of the Chickasaw Nation.

Johnston County is part of the Texoma Region.

History

In 1820, the U.S. government granted the land now known as Johnston County to the Choctaw tribe. Many of the Choctaws began moving to the new land in Indian Territory in 1830. The rest followed Chickasaw tribe, who were closely related to the Choctaw, formally separated from the Choctaw Nation in the late 1830s, relocating to the western part of the Choctaw Nation. The Chickasaw Nation named the town of Tishomingo as its capital and built a brick capitol building there in 1856.

The northern part of the county lies in the Arbuckle Mountains, which consists of rock outcroppings and rolling hills. The southern part of the county is part of the Coastal Plains region, and is more suitable for farming. The county is drained by the Washita and Blue Rivers and Pennington Creek, which are all tributaries of the Red River. An arm of Lake Texoma protrudes into southern Johnston County.

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Johnston County, Oklahoma – Racial composition

!Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!2010

!2000

!1990

!1980

|White alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |65.6% (6,735)

|71.7% (7,854)

|75.4% (7,927)

|81% (8,126)

|85% (8,803)

|Black alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.3% (236)

|1.9% (209)

|1.7% (174)

|2.1% (213)

|2.5% (262)

|American Indian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.4% (1,582)

|14.9% (1,636)

|14.9% (1,562)

|15.5% (1,558)

|11.3% (1,169)

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.5% (52)

|0.2% (27)

|0.3% (28)

|<td rowspan="2"> |0.1% (14)

|<td rowspan="2"> |0% (2)

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0% (5)

|0% (1)

|0% (5)

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.6% (57)

|0% (5)

|0% (4)

|0% (1)

|0% (0)

|Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10% (1,024)

|7.3% (802)

|5.3% (553)

|—

|Hispanic/Latino (any race)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.7% (581)

|3.9% (423)

|2.5% (260)

|1.2% (120)

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 10,272. Of the residents, 22.6% were under the age of 18 and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 40.4 years. For every 100 females there were 100.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.5 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 67.1% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 16.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 2.4% from some other race, and 11.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.7% of the population.

There were 3,961 households in the county, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 10,513 people, 4,057 households, and 2,900 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 4,782 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.09% White, 1.66% Black or African American, 15.32% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.24% from other races, and 5.38% from two or more races. 2.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 97.0% spoke English, 1.6% Spanish and 1.2% Choctaw as their first language.

There were 4,057 households, out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,592, and the median income for a family was $30,292. Males had a median income of $25,240 versus $19,868 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,747. About 17.80% of families and 22.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.00% of those under age 18 and 19.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

{| class=wikitable

! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Number of Voters

! Percentage

| Democratic

| align = center | 1,970

| align = center | 33.57%

| Republican

| align = center | 3,130

| align = center | 53.34%

| Libertarian

| align = center | 38

| align = center | 0.65%

| Independent

| align = center | 730

| align = center | 12.44%

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 5,868

! align = center | 100%

Education

Murray State School of Agriculture opened in Tishomingo in 1908. In 1972 the community college's name changed to Murray State College.

References

External links

Johnston County EMS
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Johnston County
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory