Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

Roger Mills County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population is 3,436. Its county seat is Cheyenne.GR|6

History

Roger Mills County takes its name from Roger Q. Mills, a prominent American politician 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), where George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village on the Washita River on November 26, 1868.

During the 1970's Roger Mills County and the surrounding area would benefit from the natural gas and oil development in the Panhandle-Hugoton field, the largest-volume gas field in the United States, and the world’s largest known source of helium. Between 1973 and 1993 the field produced over 8-trillion cubic feet (230,000,000 m³) of gas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,969 km² (1,146 mi²). 2,957 km² (1,142 mi²) of it is land and 12 km² (5 mi²) of it (0.40%) is water. The Canadian River forms the northern border of the county. The Washita River passes by Cheyenne and Strong City as it crosses the county from west to east.

Adjacent counties

*Ellis County (north)
*Dewey County (northeast)
*Custer County (east)
*Beckham County (south)
*Wheeler County, Texas (southwest)
*Hemphill County, Texas (northwest)

National protected areas

* Black Kettle National Grassland (part)
* Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 3,436 people, 1,428 households, and 988 families residing in the county. The population density was 1/km² (3/mi²). There were 1,749 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.76% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 5.47% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 2.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,428 households out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 18.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,921. Males had a median income of $22,224 versus $19,821 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,821. About 11.50% of families and 16.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

*Cheyenne
*Crawford
*Durham
*Hammon
*Reydon
*Strong City
*Sweetwater

References

External links

* [http://www.rogermills.org/ RogerMills.org]
* [http://www.nps.gov/waba/ Washita Battlefield National Historic Site @ the National Park Service]