Cleveland County, Oklahoma

History

Originally occupied by the Quapaw tribe, the Quapaw ceded the area to the U.S. Government soon after the Louisiana Purchase in 1818. During the late 1820s and 1830s, the area was given to the Creek and Seminole tribes after their forced removal from the southeastern United States. An agreement between the two tribes resulted in this area being part of the Seminole Nation, located west of the Creek Nation.

In 1866, these tribes were forced to cede the area to the Federal Government for siding with the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The area became part of the Unassigned Lands and was opened for white settlement on April 22, 1889.

After the passage of the Organic Act in 1890, Cleveland County was organized as County 3 and Norman became the county seat. For a short time, Cleveland County was known as Little River County, until an election in 1890. The voters selected the name Cleveland in honor of President Grover Cleveland over the name Lincoln.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 558 square miles (1,450 km²), of which 539 square miles (1,400 km²) is land and 19 square miles (49 km²) (3.5%) is water. It is the seventh smallest county in the state.

Cleveland County contains the reservoir Lake Thunderbird 5,349 acres (21.65 km²), constructed between 1962 and 1965.

Cleveland County is the origin of the Little River, a tributary of the Canadian River, 90 miles (140 km) long. The Canadian River defines the southern border of Cleveland County.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 255,755 people, 98,306 households, and 64,182 families residing in the county. The population density was 458 people per square mile (177/km²). There were 104,821 housing units at an average density of 188 per square mile (72.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.3% white, 4.2% black or African American, 4.7% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 5.6% from two or more races. 7.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 98,306 households, of which almost half (49.9%) included married couples living together and more than a third (34.7%) were non-families. Almost a third (32.9%) included children under the age of 18, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present. More than a fourth (25.9%) of households consisted of a sole individual and 6.9% were individuals 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.7 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,759, and the median income for a family was $67,412. Males had a median income of $45,580 versus $34,801 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,640. About 7.2% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The University of Oklahoma is located in Norman. It is the largest university in Oklahoma with approximately 30,000 students.

Libraries

Pioneer Library System operates branch libraries in ten cities in Cleveland, McClain and Pottawatomie counties.

Airports

The University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport is owned by the University of Oklahoma and located 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) northwest of Norman.

NRHP sites

The following sites in Cleveland County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: