Watonga is a city in Blaine County, Oklahoma. It is 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 2,690 as of the 2020 United States census. It is the county seat of Blaine County.

History

Watonga is located on former Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation lands that were allotted to individual tribal members, and the excess opened to white settlers in the Land Run of 1892. Watonga is named after Arapaho Chief Wo'teenko'oh, whose name means "Black Coyote".

The town began as a tent city on April 19, 1892. A post office opened in Watonga during the same year. However, the first railroad line through Watonga was not built until 1901–02, when the Enid and Anadarko Railway (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) constructed a rail line from Guthrie.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Watonga had a population of 2,690. The median age was 38.2 years. 28.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.0 males age 18 and over.

0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,107 households in Watonga, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.4% were married-couple households, 21.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Percent

|-

| White || 59.0%

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| Black or African American || 8.3%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 9.9%

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| Asian || 0.4%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || <0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 7.8%

|-

| Two or more races || 14.6%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 17.7%

|}

2000 census

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Economy

Since statehood, Watonga's economy has largely been based on agriculture. In the early days, local farmers primarily produced wheat.

The dairy industry grew in western Oklahoma and led to the opening of the Watonga Cheese Factory in 1941. It was one of the state's five active dairy product plants in 2004. The plant subsequently closed in 2007.

Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores began with a single leased gas station in Watonga in the mid-1960s. Love's is now in 41 states, is approaching 500 travel centers, and employs 25,000 nationwide.

The city hosted the Diamondback Correctional Facility, owned by the Corrections Corporation of America from 1998, But the prison, housing Arizona inmates, experienced a riot in May 2004. The contract to utilize the facility was not renewed, resulting in the prison closing in May 2010.

The town Walmart closed in 2016.

Government

Watonga has an aldermanic form of government.

The town newspaper, The Watonga Republican, has been published since 1892.

Watonga has the T.B. Ferguson Home Museum, which consists of the 1901 Victorian-style house of publisher T.B. Ferguson and various artifacts of the era.

Notable people

  • Sis Cunningham, musician known for folk and protest music
  • Thompson Benton Ferguson, newspaper publisher and eighth governor of the Oklahoma Territory
  • Patrick Sherrill, perpetrator of the Edmond post office shooting

Parks and recreation

Roman Nose State Park, which opened in 1937 and was one of the state's seven original state parks, is seven miles north of Watonga, off State Highway 8 and 8a. It includes two lakes, the smaller being Lake Boecher, and the larger the 55-surface-acre Lake Watonga. The park includes hiking trails, guided horseback rides and hayrides to a historic natural-rock swimming pool, miniature golf, and an 18-hole par-70 golf course. In 1992, the building was restored by town volunteers and is used as an event center.

Rail freight carriage of grain, fertilizer, and other agriculture-related products is provided by AT&L Railroad, which runs from Watonga to Geary to El Reno, Oklahoma, with overhead trackage rights on the Union Pacific from El Reno to Oklahoma City.

Notes

References

  • Watonga.com
  • Ferguson Home Museum