Sentinel is a town in Washita County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, Sentinel had a population of 763. Towns near Sentinel are Rocky, Cordell, Canute, and Burnsflat.
History
Located in southwestern Washita County, Sentinel lies at the intersection of State Highways 44 and 55. The town is primarily an agriculture-based community. The 1892 Cheyenne and Arapaho Opening brought non-Indians into the region. In 1898, R. B. Gore, a pioneer of Old Greer County, established a small general merchandise store in the area and applied for a post office. On March 6, 1899, the Post Office Department approved the application and designated the locale as Sentinel, Oklahoma Territory. The name originated from Cloud Chief's Herald-Sentinel newspaper. This store was approximately one mile east of the present town.
In 1901, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, later bought by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, began purchasing rights-of-way and designating new townsites for a proposed railroad. The newly formed Orient Townsite Company chose the site of present Sentinel and received a donation of eighty acres from L. N. Whitmer. They named the new town "Barton" and filed a plat on September 23, 1901. The new residents asked Gore to relocate his store and post office to the new location. This caused confusion, as the town and post office had different names. In 1904, Will Hornbeck established the Sentinel News-Boy. Determined to correct the name problem, he started a petition to incorporate the town as Sentinel. In 1906, the voters approved this measure in an election. In August 1907, the town officially became Sentinel. At the 1907 statehood, it had 351 residents.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Sentinel had a population of 763. The median age was 34.5 years. 29.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 107.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.3 males age 18 and over.
There were 309 households in Sentinel, of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.0% were married-couple households, 22.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 563 || 73.8%
|-
| Black or African American || 2 || 0.3%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 33 || 4.3%
|-
| Asian || 2 || 0.3%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 99 || 13.0%
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| Two or more races || 64 || 8.4%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 161 || 21.1%
|}
2000 census
As of the census