Tuttle, Oklahoma

History

Located east of the Chisholm Trail, Tuttle was developed as a farming and ranching community. The town was platted in 1901 and the land was purchased Chickasaw land from the Colbert Family. The town is named after local rancher James H. Tuttle, a Choctaw by marriage and the father of automobile dealer and politico Holmes Tuttle. The right-of-way for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway came from the tribal allotment of Frances Schrock, a Choctaw. Schrock Park is named after her. Tuttle's post office was established in 1902, and the town was incorporated in 1906.

Geography

Tuttle is located at 35°17′42″N 97°47′8″W (35.294963, -97.785683). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.2 square miles (76 km²), all land.

Tuttle, located in a low-lying river basin along the South Canadian River, is considered to be part of a rapidly growing area of northern McClain and Grady Counties known as the "Tri-City Area" with Newcastle and Blanchard.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,019 people, 2,178 households, and 1,272 families residing in the city. The population density was 206 people per square mile (56.9/km²). There were 2,341 housing units at an average density of 56.5 per square mile (21.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.6% White, 6.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 3.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. 0.3% of the population is African American.

There were 2,178 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.7% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,126, and the median income for a family was $48,682. Males had a median income of $35,599 versus $25,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,707. About 4.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Tuttle is a largely agricultural community with a focus on wheat, cotton, corn, alfalfa hay, Bermuda grass hay, and cattle. Nearby Braum's Dairy, the largest farm in the area, is located just outside the city's limits and has a market presence spanning several states. The city serves as a minor bedroom community of Oklahoma City.

Education

The Tuttle Public School system has four schools: Tuttle Elementary (grades K-3), Tuttle Intermediate School (grades 4-5),Tuttle Middle School (grades 6-8),and Tuttle High School (grades 9-12). Their colors are cardinal red and white, and their mascot is the Tiger.

Media

The Tuttle Times has been the town's newspaper since 1905.

Tuttle has been featured in an Independent Lens series documenting bullying.

In 2006, Tuttle gained brief notoriety in technical circles after the City Manager argued with a developer of the operating system used by the server of the city's website in the mistaken belief that the system had caused the website to malfunction.

Notable people