Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,442, making it the fourth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne. The county was created in 1891.

Roger Mills county is located above the petroleum-rich Panhandle-Hugoton Field, making it one of the leading sources of oil, natural gas, and helium. The county also overlies part of the Ogallala Aquifer.

History

Roger Mills County takes its name from Roger Q. Mills, an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later senator from Texas. The town of Cheyenne in Roger Mills County is the location of the Battle of Washita River (also called Battle of the Washita; Washita Battlefield and the Washita Massacre), where George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Chief Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village on the Washita River on November 26, 1868.

The area covered by Roger Mills County had been part of the Cheyenne Arapaho reservation until after Oklahoma Territory was created and County E was formed. County E was renamed Day County. Day County was abolished and Roger Mills County was created at statehood on November 16, 1907. The county's western boundary with Texas was moved eastward when the Supreme Court ruled that the 100th Meridian was farther east than originally supposed. The Canadian River forms the northern border of the county.

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 3,442. Of the residents, 24.9% were under the age of 18 and 20.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.5 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 85.6% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 3.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 1.8% from some other race, and 8.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.4% of the population. The population density was . The 1,749 housing units had an average density of .

Politics

Roger Mills County is heavily Republican, like most of rural western Oklahoma. It has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1980, and in all but three elections since 1952. The county last voted for a Democrat in 1976 when it voted for Jimmy Carter. Roger Mills County, prior to the 1980s, had leaned Democratic, voting Democratic in 12 of 18 elections between 1908 and 1976. Since 1976, it has rapidly trended Republican.

{| class=wikitable

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

|-

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Number of Voters

! Percentage

|-

|

| Democratic

| align = center | 564

| align = center | 24.32%

|-

|

| Republican

| align = center | 1,549

| align = center | 66.80%

|-

|

| Others

| align = center | 206

| align = center | 8.88%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align = center | 2,319

! align = center | 100%

|}

<!-- PresRow should be -->

Communities

Towns

  • Cheyenne (county seat)
  • Hammon (small part in Custer County)
  • Reydon
  • Strong City
  • Sweetwater (partially in Beckham County)

Unincorporated communities

  • Berlin
  • Crawford
  • Durham (also a census-designated place)
  • Grimes
  • Rankin
  • Roll

Education

School districts include:

  • Cheyenne Public Schools
  • Elk City Public Schools
  • Hammon Public Schools
  • Leedey Public Schools
  • Merritt Public Schools
  • Reydon Public Schools
  • Sayre Public Schools
  • Sweetwater Public Schools

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

References

  • RogerMills.org
  • Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory