Newkirk (Oklahoma)

Kay County

40-51300

Newkirk is a city with the status of "city" and at the same administrative seat ( county seat ) of Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Geography

Newkirk is located 15 kilometers north of Ponca City, to the east flows the Arkansas River. The nearest major town is Wichita (95 km north) in Kansas. The road connecting U.S. Highway 77 runs right through the city, Interstate 35 is 15 kilometers away to the west.

History

The area was originally owned by the Cherokee. With the Cherokee Outlet, the government bought from these large tracts of land and gave them free for colonization. Subsequently, the city was founded in 1883 under the name Lamoreaux. This name dates back to Silas W. Lamoreaux, which is responsible for land sales Commissioner. The new settlers christened the place soon to Santa Fe. However, the railway company Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway did not accept that name, since there were already other places with the same name and they wanted to rule out any confusion. Since then, the nearby small town of Kirk existed, citizens finally decided on still valid name Newkirk. When a local administration in Kay County sought, Blackwell, Newkirk and Ponca City were available. With a narrow majority Newkirk was elected. An economic boom experienced Newkirk at the beginning of the 20th century, when oil was discovered in exploratory drilling. Today Newkirk is mainly engaged in agriculture and tourism.

National Register of Historic Places

Many historically valuable buildings were built in Newkirk, some of which were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include the Kay County Oklahoma Courthouse, the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School and the JP Tipton Farmstead.

Chilocco Indian Agricultural School

Demography

In 2012 a population of 2278 persons was determined, which represents an increase of 1.6 % over the year 2000. The average age of the residents was 40.8 years in 2012 to almost the average of Oklahoma, which was 40.6 years. About 5.8 % of the population is of Indian descent.

The most authoritative immigration groups during the beginnings of the town came to 25.6% in Germany, 12.4 % in Ireland and 8.5% in England.