Henryetta, Oklahoma

History

Hugh Henry established a ranch on Creek Nation land in 1885. He soon found a deposit of coal, which he began using to fuel the forge at his ranch. Discovery of more coal deposits attracted several railroads to develop these mines. A settlement named Furrs grew up around the mines. The name changed to Henryetta when a post office opened on August 28, 1900.

At statehood in 1907, Henryetta had 1,051 residents. The economy was based on agriculture, coal, natural gas and oil. In 1909, the area had fourteen coal mines, producing 65,000 tons per month. By 1910, the population had grown to 1,671. The town added a broom factory, several brick factories and a bottling plant during the 1920s.

Henryetta's manufacturing base continued to expand in the 1940s and 1950s. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now PPG Industries) employed nine hundred people at its plate glass production facility, which claimed to be the largest west of the Mississippi River. This plant closed by 1990. Eagle-Picher Company employed more than seven hundred people at its plant that extracted the rare metal germanium. The plant has since closed and became a Superfund cleanup site.

Geography

Henryetta is located at 35°26′33″N 95°59′6″W (35.442379, -95.985000).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km²), of which, 6.0 square miles (16 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.66%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,096 people, 2,460 households, and 1,589 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,009.8 people per square mile (389.7/km²). There were 2,844 housing units at an average density of 471.1 per square mile (181.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.69% White, 0.57% African American, 12.30% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 6.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population.

There were 2,460 households out of which 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,115, and the median income for a family was $24,760. Males had a median income of $28,661 versus $14,268 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,908. About 19.9% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Henryetta has a council-manager form of government with an elected mayor.

Notable people

Henryetta is notable as the high school hometown of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Other famous former and current residents include actress Alice Ghostley (Bewitched, Grease, Designing Women), Broadway actor Jeremy Hays (The Phantom of The Opera, Les Miserables), as well as rodeo favorites Jim Shoulders and Terry Don West and it is the birthplace of Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor.

Cultural

Henryetta was referenced as character Stevie Rae's hometown in P. C. Cast's book series, House of Night. Henryetta is mentioned in the King of the Hill episode "Harlottown" as Arlen's new city manager's prior town.

Henryetta's school teams were known for their unusual nickname, the "Mud Hens" (later "Hens" and "Fighting Hens"), until a student petition led to a name change (to "Knights") in 1989.