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Comanche County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 124,098. This is the fourth largest county in Oklahoma, based on 2010 population. It is included in the Lawton Metropolitan Statistical Area with the city of Lawton as its county seat. Built on former reservation lands of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache in Indian Territory, Comanche County was open for settlement on August 16, 1901 by lottery. The region has three cities and seven towns as well as the Fort Sill military instillation and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The landscape of the county is typical of the Great Plains with flat topography and gently rolling hills, while the areas in the north are marked by the Wichita Mountains. Interstate 44 and three major US Highways serve the county by ground, while the LawtonFort Sill Regional Airport serves the county by air. Comanche County’s economy is largely based in the government sector which consist of half of the county’s Gross Domestic Product. The governance of the county is led by a three commission board, which are elected in four year staggered terms. The county is served by several World Views Guides
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school districts and Cameron and Apache tribes. University in education as well Fort Sill was established in as three hospitals for health 1869 by Major General Philip care. Sheridan who was leading a campaign in Indian Territory 1. History to stop raids into Texas by The land that is present day American Indian tribes. In Oklahoma was first settled by 1874, the Red River War prehistoric American Indians broke out in the region when including the Clovis 11500 the Comanche, Kiowa and BCE, Folsom 10600 BCE and Southern Cheyenne left their Plainview 10000 BCE cultures. Indian Territory reservation. Western explorers came to the Attrition and skirmishes by region in the 16th century with the US Army finally forced Spanish explorer Francisco the return of the tribes back to Vásquez de Coronado visiting Indian Territory in June 1875. in 1541. Most of the region In 1891, the United States during this time was settled by Congress appointed a the Wichita and Caddo people. commission to meet with the Around the 1700s, two tribes tribal leaders and come to an from the North, the Comanches agreement allowing white and Kiowas, migrated to the settlement in the region. Oklahoma and Texas region. Years of controversy and legal For most of the 18th century, the Oklahoma region was under French control as Louisiana. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase by Thomas Jefferson brought the area under United States control. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which removed American Indian tribes and relocated them to Indian Territory. The southern part of the territory was originally assigned to the Choctaw and Chickasaw until 1867 when the Medicine Lodge Treaty allotted the southwest portion of the Choctaw and Chickasaw’s lands to the Comanche, Kiowa,
maneuvering ensued before President William McKinley issued a proclamation on July 4, 1901, that gave the federal government control over 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of surplus Indian land. Three 320-acre (1.3 km2) sites in Kiowa, Caddo and Comanche Counties were selected for county seats with Lawton designated as the Comanche County seat. NonIndian settlement was opened through an auction of lots beginning on August 6, 1901. In December 1906, the south regions of the county reserved for grazing land reserved for
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American Indian livestock, of the county, Permian Garber Big Pasture, were open for sandstone is commonly found settlement. with some Hennessey Group In 1910, the western portion shale. Area creeks including of Comanche County and East Cache Creek and West southern part of Kiowa County Cache Creek contain deposits were used to create the short of Quaternary Alluvium. To lived county of Swanson. After the northwest, the Wichita a lawsuit brought by Comanche Mountains consist primarily of County, Swanson County was Wichita Granite Group from the Cambrian era. dissolved by the Supreme Court on June 27, 1911. In 1912, the southern portion of Comanche County, which at the time extended to the Red River, were used to create the new county of Cotton County. 2.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,084 square miles (2,807.5 km2), of which 1,069 square miles (2,768.7 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36.3 km2) (1.34%) is water. Comanche County lies in an area that is typical of the Great Plains with prairie, few trees, and generally flat topography with gently rolling hills. The north region of the county consists of the Wichita Mountains including Mount Scott and Mount Pinchot the area’s highest peaks. The area consists mostly of Permian Post Oak Conglomerate limestone on the northern sections of the county. In the south sections
There are three cities in Comanche County. The largest, Lawton is located in the center of the county and is the county seat. According to the US census, the population of Lawton was 96,867 in 2010, which is 78 percent of the county’s population. Cache is located to the west of Lawton on US Highway 62 and has a population of 2,796. In the northeast, Elgin is located along Interstate 44 and has a population of 2,156. Several towns dot the county including: Fletcher, Sterling in the northeast, Medicine Park in the north central region, Indiahoma in the west, Geronimo in the southeast, and Chattanooga and Faxon in the southern regions of the county. Also located in Comanche County is Fort Sill. The 90,000 acre instillation is home to the US Army Field Artillery Training Center and the Air Defense Artillery.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Established in 1901 the refuge is one of the 546 wildlife refuges throughout the United States to provide a natural habitat for native grazing animals like the Bison, Elk, and Texas longhorn cattle. 1.
Adjacent counties
Kiowa County (northwest) • Tillman County (southwest) • Cotton County (south) • Stephens County (southeast) • Grady County (northeast) • Caddo County (north) •
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Climate
Comanche County lies in a dry subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with frequent variations in weather daily, except during the constantly hot and dry summer months. Frequent strong winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help to lessen the hotter weather. Northerly winds during the winter can occasionally intensify cold periods.
The average mean temperature for the southwest Oklahoma is 61.9 °F (16.6 °C). The summers can be extremely hot with an average 21 days with Protected areas in Comanche temperatures 100 °F (37.8 °C) County include the 59,020 acre and above. The winter months World Views Guides | June 2014
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are typically mild, though there can be periods of extreme cold. The area averages 8 days that fail to rise above freezing. The region receives about 31.6 inches (800 mm) of precipitation and less than
3 inches (80 mm) of snow Notably in 1957, a F4 tornado annually. and again in 1979 a F3 tornado Typically in late April through struck the southern region of Lawton. early June, Comanche County is prone to severe weather which can include tornadoes. 4.
Demographics
Historical population Census Pop. %± 1910 41,489 — 1920 26,629 −35.8% 1930 34,317 28.9% 1940 38,988 13.6% 1950 55,165 41.5% 1960 90,803 64.6% 1970 108,144 19.1% 1980 112,456 4.0% 1990 111,486 −0.9% 2000 114,996 3.1% 2010 124,098 7.9% Est. 2012 126,390 1.8%
As of the census of 2010, there were 124,098 people, 44,982 households, and 30,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile (45/km²). There were 50,739 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.5% White, 17.5% Black or African American, 5.9% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 3.0% from other races, and 6.5% from two or more races. 11.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (7.0% Mexican, 2.4% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Spanish, 0.2% Panamanian).
under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07.
107.3 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,817, and the median income for a family was $51,564. Males had a median income of $37,423 versus $31,913 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,048. About 14.3% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% In the county, the population of those under age 18 and 8.1% was spread out with 25.1% of those age 65 or over. under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 5. Law and government to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, Comanche County has a county and 10.2% who were 65 years commission comprising of age or older. The median three members elected by age was 31.3 years. For every district. Commissioners from 100 females there were 106.2 each district serve four-year There were 44,982 households males. For every 100 females staggered terms in partisan out of which 36.5% had children age 18 and over, there were elections. Boundaries are World Views Guides
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set once every 10 years following the federal census. The Board is responsible for inspecting and approving county programs and facilities, supervise the performance county officials, maintaining the county infrastructure, as well as overseeing the financial affairs of the county. In 2011, the commissioners were District 1 Gail Turner, District 2 Ron Kirby, and District 3 Don Hawthorne. In addition to the county commissioners, other elected county officials include: District Attorney, County Sheriff, Treasurer, Assessor, County Clerk, and Court clerk. At the federal level, Lawton lies in Oklahoma 4th Congressional district, represented by Tom Cole. In the State Senate, the county is represented by District 31 (Don Barrington) and 32 (Randy Bass). In the House, District 50 (Dennis Johnson), 62 (T.W. Shannon), 63 (Don Armes), 64 (Ann Coody), 65 (Joe Dorman) covers the county. 6.
Economy and workforce
Comanche County’s economy is primarily centered on government, manufacturing and retail trade industries. The Lawton MSA has a Gross Domestic Product of $4.89 Billion in 2010 with half (2.66 Billion) in the Government
sector. Private industries accounted for 2.23 Billion in GDP in which Manufacturing (451 Million), Real estate and rental and leasing (305 Million), and Retail Trade (255 Million) were the largest fields. In May 2010, it was estimated there were 41,720 people employed. The largest occupation fields included, the Office and Administrative Support Occupations field which had 6,760 employed, the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations which employed 4,630, and the Sales and Related Occupations which had 4,150 employed. 7.
Media
The Lawton Constitution is the only daily newspaper published in the county and has a circulation of 30,000. In addition the Fort Sill newspaper, The Cannoneer, is published weekly primarily for military personnel as well as the newspaper The Cameron Collegian whose main audience is Cameron University students. Additionally, Okie Magazine is a monthly magazine that focuses on news and entertainment in the Southwest Oklahoma area. Radio stations in Lawton include, two AM Stations KXCA 1050 and KKRX 1380 as well as several FM stations including, NPR affiliate KCCU
89.3, KZCD 94.1, KMGZ 95.3, KJMZ 97.9, KBZQ 99.5, KLAW 101.3 and KVRW 107.3 Comanche County is located in the Wichita Falls and Lawton Media Market which encompasses 154,450 households with a television, making it the 149th largest in the nation according to Nelson Media Research in 2009-2010. KSWO-TV channel 7, an ABC affiliate, is the only broadcast television station in the area that provides local news. All other major stations including, KFDX-TV 3 (NBC), KAUZTV (CBS), and KJTL-TV (Fox) are based in Wichita Falls. 8.
Transportation
Comanche County is primarily served by Interstate 44, designated as the H. E. Bailey Turnpike. It connects the county to Oklahoma City to the northeast and to Wichita Falls, Texas to the south. The county is also connected by US Highway 62, which connects to the regional towns of Altus to the west and Anadarko to the north. Other major thoroughfares include US Highway 277 and 281, which parallels the H. E. Bailey Turnpike to Wichita Falls to the south and leads to regional towns of Anadarko and Chickasha, respectively, World Views Guides | June 2014
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to the north. Several State Highways cross the county including, State Highway 7 which connects Lawton to Duncan. State Highway 17 starts at US Highway 62 and connects the city of Elgin to the town of Sterling and leads to Rush Springs in Grady County. State Highway 36 connects the towns of Chattanooga to Faxon and has its eastern terminus at Interstate 44. State Highway 49 enters the county from Kiowa County and becomes unsigned through the Wichita Wildlife refuge heading east. Leaving the refuge it becomes signed and leads through Medicine Park to its eastern terminus at Interstate 44. State Highway 58 connects to Carnegie in Caddo County to State Highway 49 near Medicine Park. State Highway 115 leads from Mountain View in Kiowa County through Meers to the Wichita Mountain Refuge. There it becomes unsigned as it leads to the south. Exiting the refuge, it becomes signed and leads to its southern terminus north of Cache on US Highway 62. Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) provides public transit locally for Lawton and Fort Sill. LATS main terminal is located near the Lawton Public Library and provides five major routes throughout
the city.
and had an enrollment of 115. St. Mary’s Catholic School offers classes for elementary and middle school. Trinity Christian Academy offers classes from K-3 through the 8th grade.
By air, Comanche County is served by the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport (LAW, KLAW). At present, it offers daily American Eagle flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and is also used for There is one university in military transport. Comanche County, Cameron University. Cameron is the 9. Education and largest four year, state-funded university, in southwest healthcare Oklahoma, offering more The county has ten independent than 50 degree programs in school districts. The largest areas of Business, Education, is Lawton Public Schools Liberal Arts and Science and which had 16,398 in 2009. Technology. Founded in 1909, The district operates two preCameron has an average fall kindergarten centers, twentyenrollment of 6,000 students six elementary schools, four with 70 endowed faculty middle schools, and three positions. high schools – Eisenhower, Lawton, and MacArthur. Comanche County is also Other major school districts in served by the Great Plains the area include Cache Public Technology Center, which Schools and Elgin Public is part of the Oklahoma Schools. Cache Public Schools Department of Career and Education had an enrollment of 1,648 Technology and consists of five schools. System. Great Plains provides education, Elgin Public Schools had an occupational enrollment of 16,98 and three training, and development schools. Other public school opportunities to area residents. districts in the region include, Comanche County has three Bishop Chattanooga, Fletcher, major hospitals in the area. Flower Mound, Geronimo, The largest, Comanche Indiahoma, and Sterling. County Memorial Hospital, is Comanche County includes several private schools. The largest is Lawton Christan School with an enrollment of 426 students in 2009. Lawton Academy of Arts & Science offers classes from PK-12
a 283-bed non-profit hospital that employs 250 physicians. Southwestern Medical Center is a 199-bed hospital with a staff of 150 physicians. In addition, the US Public Health Lawton Indian Hospital is
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located in the city to provide health services for the large American Indian population. It has 26 beds with a staff of 23 physicians. 10. Notable residents Notable residents include country singers: Bryan White, Kelly Willis, and Leon Russell, Grammy nominated jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig, and Flaming Lips drummer Steven Drozd. Notable authors include Pulitzer Prize winning author N. Scott Momaday, poet Don Blanding, and Hugo Award winner, C. J. Cherryh. Politicians from Comanche County include: US Senator Thomas Gore, US Representatives: Scott Ferris, L. M. Gensman, Toby Morris, and Elmer Thomas. Other politicians include Democratic State Senator Randy Bass and former US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia Julian Niemczyk.
of Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, NFL Pro Bowlers Will Shields and Jammal Brown Quanah Parker built his final residence in the town of Cache, Comanche County. 1. Lawton, Oklahoma The city of Lawton (Pawnee: Raaríhtaaruʾ) is the county seat of Comanche County, in the State of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, about 87 mi (140 km) southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, Lawton’s population was 96,867, making it the fifthlargest city in the state. Built on former reservation lands of Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Indians, Lawton was founded on August 6, 1901, and was named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient who was killed in action in the Philippine–American War. Lawton’s landscape is typical of the Great Plains, with flat topography and gently rolling hills, while the area north of the city is marked by the Wichita Mountains.
gave Lawton economic and population stability in the region throughout the 20th century. Although Lawton’s economy is still largely dependent on Fort Sill, it has also grown to encompass manufacturing, higher education, health care, and retail. The city’s government is run by a council-manager government consisting of a city manager and a city council headed by a mayor. Interstate 44 and three major United States highways serve the city, while Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport connects Lawton by air. Recreation can be found at the city’s many parks, lakes, museums, and festivals. Notable residents of the city include many musical and literary artists, as well as several professional athletes. 1.
History
The land that is present-day Oklahoma was first settled by prehistoric American Indians Other notable residents including the Clovis 11500 include: WWII Comanche BCE, Folsom 10600 BCE and Code Talker Charles Chibitty, Plainview 10000 BCE cultures. WWII Nurse and POW Col. Western explorers came to the Rosemary Hogan, Academy region in the 16th century, with Award winning actress Spanish explorer Francisco Joan Crawford, WWII ace Vásquez de Coronado visiting Robert S. Johnson, three in 1541. Most of the region time NBA champion Stacey during this time was settled by King, former NBA All-Star the Wichita and Caddo peoples. Michael Ray Richardson, The city’s proximity to Fort Around the 1700s, two tribes Miss America 2007 Lauren Sill Military Reservation from the north, the Comanches Nelson, infamous University World Views Guides
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and Kiowas, migrated to the to an agreement allowing Oklahoma and Texas region. white settlement. Years For most of the 18th century, of controversy and legal the Oklahoma region was under maneuvering ensued before French control as Louisiana. In President William McKinley 1803, the Louisiana Purchase issued a proclamation on July by Thomas Jefferson brought 4, 1901, that gave the federal the area under United States government control over 2 control. In 1830, Congress 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km ) of surplus Indian land. passed the Indian Removal Act, which removed American Indian tribes and relocated them to Indian Territory. The southern part of the territory was originally assigned to the Choctaw and Chickasaw until 1867, when the Medicine Lodge Treaty allotted the southwest portion of the Choctaw and Chickasaw’s lands to the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes. Fort Sill was established in 1869 by Major General Philip Sheridan, who was leading a campaign in the Indian Territory to stop raids into Texas by American Indian tribes. In 1874, the Red River War broke out in the region when the Comanche, Kiowa, and Southern Cheyenne left their Indian Territory reservation. Attrition and skirmishes by the US Army finally forced the return of the tribes back to Indian Territory in June 1875. In 1891, the United States Congress appointed a commission to meet with the tribal leaders and come
World War II, Lawton enjoyed steady population growth, with the population increasing from 18,055 to 34,757 from 1940 to 1950. By the 1960s, it had reached 61,697. Lawton underwent tremendous growth during the late 1940s and 1950s, leading city officials to seek additional water sources to supplement existing water from Lake Lawtonka. In the late 1950s, the city purchased large parcels of land along East Cache Creek in northern Comanche County for the construction of a manmade lake with a dam built in 1959 on the creek just north of U.S. 277 west of Elgin. Lake Ellsworth, named for a former Lawton mayor and soft-drink bottler C.R. Ellsworth, was dedicated in the early 1960s, and not only offered additional water resources, but also recreational opportunities and flood control along Cache Creek.
Three 320-acre sites in Kiowa, Caddo and Comanche Counties were selected for county seats, with Lawton designated as the Comanche County seat. The town was named for Major General Henry W. Lawton, a quartermaster at Fort Sill, who had taken part in the pursuit and capture of Geronimo. The city was opened to settlement through an auction of town lots beginning on August 6, 1901, which was completed 60 days later. By September 25, 1901, the Rock Island Railroad expanded to Lawton and was soon joined by the Frisco Line. The first city elections were held October 24, 1901. In 1966, the Lawton City The United States’ entry Council annexed several miles into World War I accelerated of land on the city’s east, growth at Fort Sill and Lawton. northeast, west, and northwest The availability of 5 million borders, expanding east beyond US gallons (19,000 m3) of the East Cache Creek area and water from Lake Lawtonka, west to 82nd Street. On March just north of Fort Sill, provided 1, 1964, the north section of the motivation for the War the H. E. Bailey Turnpike was Department to establish a completed, connecting Lawton major cantonment named directly to Oklahoma City. The Camp Doniphan, which was south section of the turnpike active until 1922. Following leading to the Texas border was World Views Guides | June 2014
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completed on April 23, 1964. Urban renewal efforts in the 1970s transformed downtown Lawton. A number of buildings dating back to the city’s founding were demolished to build an enclosed shopping mall.
consists mostly of Permian Post Oak Conglomerate limestone on the northern sections of the city. In the south sections of the city, Permian Garber sandstone is commonly found with some Hennessey Group shale. Area creeks including East Cache Creek contain deposits of Quaternary alluvium. To the northwest, the Wichita Mountains consist primarily of Wichita Granite Group from the Cambrian era.
On June 23, 1998, the city expanded when Lawton annexed neighboring Fort Sill. With the advent of the Base Realignment and Closure of 2005 increasing the size of Fort Sill, Lawton is expected 1. Climate to see continued population and economic growth over the Lawton lies in a dry subtropical course of the next 20 years. climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with 2. Geography frequent variations in weather Lawton is located at 34°36′16″N daily, except during the 98°23′45″W (34.604444, constantly hot and dry summer Frequent strong −98.395833). The city has a months. total area of 75.1 sq mi (195 winds, usually from the south km2), all of it land. Lawton or south-southeast during is located about 84 mi (135 the summer, help to lessen km) southwest of Oklahoma the hotter weather. Northerly City. Other surrounding cities winds during the winter can include Wichita Falls about occasionally intensify cold periods. 47 mi (76 km) to the south, Duncan about 33 mi (53 km) The average mean temperature to the east, and Altus about 56 for the southwest Oklahoma is mi (90 km) to the west. 61.9°F (16.6°C). The summers Lawton lies in an area typical can be extremely hot; Lawton of the Great Plains, with averages 21 days with prairie, few trees, and flat temperatures 100°F (37.8°C) topography with gently rolling and above. The winter months hills. The region north of the are typically mild, though city consists of the Wichita periods of extreme cold can Mountains, including Mount occur. Lawton averages eight Scott and Mount Pinchot, the days that fail to rise above area’s highest peaks. The area freezing. The city receives World Views Guides
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about 31.6 inches (800 mm) of precipitation and less than 3 in (80 mm) of snow annually. Lawton is located squarely in area known as Tornado Alley and is prone to severe weather from late April through early June. Most notably, an F4 tornado in 1957, and an F3 tornado in 1979 struck the southern region of the city. 3.
Demographics
Historical population Census Pop. %± 1910 7,788 — 1920 8,930 14.7% 1930 12,121 35.7% 1940 18,055 49.0% 1950 34,757 92.5% 1960 61,697 77.5% 1970 74,470 20.7% 1980 80,054 7.5% 1990 80,561 0.6% 2000 92,757 15.1% 2010 96,867 4.4% Est. 2013 97,151 0.3%
As of the census of 2010, 96,867 people, 34,901 households, and 22,508 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,195.4 people per square mile (461.5/km²). The 39,409 housing units averaged 486.3 per square mile (187.8/ km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.3% White, 21.4% African American, 4.7% Native American, 2.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 12.6% (7.8% Mexican, 2.8% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Panamanian).
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Of the 34,901 households, 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were not families. Of all households, 29.4% were made up of individuals, and 2.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.08.
a violent crime rate of 771.7 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to a rate of 479.5 in Oklahoma as a whole and 403.6 nationwide. The property crime rate for 2010 was 4,964.6 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to an average of 3,415.5 in Oklahoma and 2,941.9 nationally. In 2012, Lawton was ranked the eighthmost dangerous city in the United States for women.
In the city, the population was distributed as 24.9% under the age of 18, 15.3% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.0 males.
Lawton is primarily centered on government, manufacturing, and retail trade industries. Lawton MSA ranks fourth in Oklahoma with a gross domestic product of $4.2 billion produced in 2008, with a majority ($2.1 billion) in the government sector. Fort Sill is the largest employer in Lawton, with over 5,000 full-time employees. In the private sector, the largest employer is Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company with 2,400 full-time employees. Major employers in the Lawton area also include: Lawton Public Schools, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, City of Lawton, Cameron University, and Assurant Solutions. Lawton includes two major industrial parks. One is located in the southwest region of town, while the second is located near the Lawton-Fort
The median income for a household in the city was $41,566, and for a family was $50,507. Males had a median income of $36,440 versus $31,825 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,655. About 16.6% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over. 1.
Crime Rate
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Economy and workforce
Sill Regional Airport. At present, the city of Lawton is undertaking the Downtown Revitalization Project. Its goal is to redesign the areas between Elmer Thomas Park at the north through Central Mall to the south to be more visually appealing and pedestrian friendly to encourage business growth in the area. Lawton had 35,374 employed civilians as of the 2010 Census, and of them, 49.1% were female. Of the civilian workers, 21,842 (61.7%) were private for-profit wage and salary workers. Of the for-profit wage and salary workers, 659 (1.9% of the total Lawton civilian workforce) were employees of their own corporations. The nonprofit sector had 2,571 (7.3%) private nonprofit wage and salary workers. The government sector included 4,713 (13.3%) federal workers, 2,545 (7.2%) state government workers, and 2,160 (6.1%) local government workers. In addition, the city had 1,634 (4.6%) self-employed workers and unpaid family workers. 5. 1.
Arts and culture Events and festivals
Lawton is home to many annual attractions, including the annual Prince of Peace Easter passion play held in the Holy City in the Wichita
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Mountain Refuge each year on Palm Sunday and continues to Easter Eve. It continues to be one of the longest-running Easter passion plays in the nation and was the basis for the 1949 movie The Prince of Peace. In May, Lawton Arts for All, Inc hosts the Arts for All Festival. The festival accommodates several judged art competitions, as well as live entertainment. The festival is typically held at Shepler Park. In late September, Lawton hosts The International Festival. Founded in 1979, the event showcases the many different culture, arts, and music of the community. 2.
Museums
Lawton has three museums open to the public. The Museum of the Great Plains is dedicated to natural history and early settlement of the Great Plains. Outdoor exhibits include a replica of the Red River Trading Post, the original Blue Beaver schoolhouse, and Elgin Train Depot with a Frisco locomotive. The Fort Sill Museum, located on the current military base of the same name, includes the old Fort Sill corral and several period buildings, including the old post guardhouse, chapel, and barracks, as well as several artillery pieces. The old fort is also listed as a National
Historic Landmark. The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center, operated by the Comanche Nation Tribe, focuses on exhibits and art relating to the Comanche culture past and present. The museum also hosts traveling American Indian exhibitions from the Smithsonian Institute, Michigan State University Museum, and Chicago’s Field Museum. 6.
Sports
Lawton is home to Cameron University, which is a Division II school in the Lone Star Conference. Noted for winning the NAIA Football National Championship in 1987, the school currently does not have a football program. However, Cameron remains competitive in 10 varsity sports, including Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Baseball, and Softball. Lawton was the former home to the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry. The Cavalry moved in 2007 from Oklahoma City to Lawton, where they won two Continental Basketball Association championships and a Premier Basketball League championship. In 2011, the Cavalry ceased operations in their second year in the PBL.
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Parks and recreation
Lawton is home to 80 parks and recreation areas in varying sizes, including the largest Elmer Thomas Park. Along with the park system, the city is near three major lakes, Lake Lawtonka, Lake Ellsworth, and Elmer Thomas Lake, where boating, swimming, camping, and fishing are permitted. The Lawton branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) offers a wide variety of recreational programs to members, and the Lawton Country Club maintains an 18-hole, par 71 golf course. Recreation can also be found in many amateur leagues, including: adult softball, youth baseball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Northwest of the city is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to preserve the natural fauna of southwest Oklahoma. The refuge includes a Visitor Center, several camping areas, hiking trails, and many lakes for the public to explore. 1.
Higher education
Cameron University is the largest four-year, state-funded university in southwest Oklahoma, offering more than 50 degree programs in areas of Business, Education, Liberal Arts, and Science and World Views Guides | June 2014
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Technology. Founded in 1909, Cameron has an average fall enrollment of 6,000 students with 70 endowed faculty positions. Other colleges in Lawton include Comanche Nation College. Founded in 2004, the college provides lower-division programs and educational opportunities in higher education for the Comanche Nation and the public. Lawton is also served by the Great Plains Technology Center, which is part of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system. Great Plains provides occupational education, training, and development opportunities to area residents. 2.
Primary and secondary schools
Lawton Public Schools serves most of the city of Lawton. The district operates two prekindergarten centers, 24 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools – Eisenhower, Lawton, and MacArthur. In 2008, Lawton Public Schools had an enrollment of about 16,000 students with about 1,000 teachers. Two independent districts, Bishop and Flower Mound, serve portions of Lawton. Bishop operates a single PK-6 elementary World Views Guides
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campus and Flower Mound has a PK-8 campus. Secondary students living in these districts attend Lawton Public Schools. A small portion of far-west Lawton is served by Cache Public Schools.
as well as the newspaper The Cameron Collegian, whose main audience is Cameron University students. Additionally, Okie Magazine is a monthly magazine that focuses on news and Other schools in Lawton entertainment in the Southwest Oklahoma area. include St. Mary’s Catholic School, which has both Radio stations in Lawton elementary and middle include, two AM Stations, schools. St. Mary’s has served KXCA 1050 and KKRX 1380, the greater Lawton area and the and 15 FM stations, including, Fort Sill community for over NPR affiliate KCCU 89.3, 100 years and offers accredited KFXI 92.1, KZCD 94.1, Catholic education for grades KMGZ 95.3, KJMZ 97.9, pre-K through eighth grade. KLAW 101.3, and KVRW Trinity Christian Academy, 107.3 Lawton Academy of Arts & Lawton is located in the Wichita Science, and Lawton Christian Falls and Lawton media market, School are three other private which encompasses 154,450 schools. Trinity Christian households with television, Academy offers classes from making it the 149th-largest in K-3 through the eighth grade. the nation according to Nelson Lawton Academy of Arts & Media Research in 2009Science, and Lawton Christian 2010. KSWO-TV channel 7, has the city’s only two private an ABC affiliate, is the only independent high schools. broadcast television station in Lawton Christian, founded in the Lawton area that provides 1976, offers education from local news. All other major prekindergarten through the stations, including KFDX-TV 12th grade, and has a student 3 (NBC), KAUZ-TV (CBS), body of 426 students. and KJTL-TV (Fox) are based 8.
Media
in Wichita Falls.
The Lawton Constitution, the 9. Infrastructure only daily newspaper published in Lawton, has a circulation of 1. Transportation 30,000. In addition, the Fort Sill Lawton is primarily served by newspaper, The Cannoneer, is Interstate 44, designated as published weekly primarily the H. E. Bailey Turnpike. It for military personnel, connects the city to Oklahoma
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City to the northeast and to Wichita Falls, Texas, to the south. The city is also connected by US Highway 62, which connects to the regional towns of Altus to the west and Anadarko to the north. Other major thoroughfares include US Highway 277 and 281, which parallels the H. E. Bailey Turnpike to Wichita Falls to the south and leads to regional towns of Anadarko and Chickasha, respectively, to the north, and OK-7, which connects Lawton to Duncan. Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) provides public transit for both Lawton and Fort Sill. Founded in 2002, LATS had a ridership of 427,088 in 2009, and provides five major routes throughout the city. By air, Lawton is served by the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport (LAW, KLAW). At present, it offers daily American Eagle flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and is also used for military transport. 2.
Health care
Lawton has three major hospitals in the area. The largest, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, is a 283bed nonprofit hospital that employs 250 physicians. Southwestern Medical Center is a 199-bed hospital with a staff of 150 physicians. In World Views Guides
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addition, the US Public Health Lawton Indian Hospital is located in the city to provide health services for the large American Indian population. It has 26 beds with a staff of 23 physicians. 10. Notable people 1.
Musicians and authors
Notable musicians from Lawton include country singers Bryan White, Kelly Willis, and Leon Russell, and Grammy nominated jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig. Notable authors include Pulitzer Prize-winning author N. Scott Momaday, poet Don Blanding, Hugo Award-winning science fiction writer C. J. Cherryh and animator Stephen Hillenburg. 2.
Political leaders
Among the prominent political leaders from Lawton are: US Senator Thomas Gore, US Representatives Scott Ferris, L. M. Gensman, Elmer Thomas, Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives T.W. Shannon, Democratic State Senator Randy Bass and former US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia Julian Niemczyk (born on Fort Sill). Frontier lawman Heck Thomas, who in 1896 captured the outlaw Bill Doolin, the founder of the Wild Bunch
gang, spent his later years as the first elected police chief in Lawton. Gregory A. Miller, an attorney and a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from St. Charles Parish, was born at Fort Sill in 1962, where his father, Ralph R. Miller, was stationed. Ralph Miller was a state representative from St. Charles Parish from 1968 to 1980 and 1982 to 1992. 3.
Other residents
notable
Other notable Lawton residents include WWII Comanche code talker Charles Chibitty, Academy Award-winning actress Joan Crawford, WWII ace Robert S. Johnson, threetime NBA champion Stacey King, former NBA All-Star Michael Ray Richardson, Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson, infamous University of Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, NFL Pro Bowlers Will Shields Jammal Brown, 2006 contender, champion boxer Grady Brewer, Buffalo Bisons manager Marty Brown (baseball), and IFBB professional bodybuilder Vickie Gates.
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Fort Sill is a United States Army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the Southern Plains built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark and serves as home of the United States Army Field Artillery School as well as the Marine Corps’ site for Field Artillery MOS school, United States Army Air Defense Artillery School, the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, the 75th Fires Brigade and the 214th Fires Brigade. Fort Sill is also one of the four locations for Army Basic Combat Training. It has played a significant role in every major American conflict since 1869.
Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Ben Clark and Jack Stilwell. Troops camped at the location of the new fort included the 7th Cavalry, the 19th Kansas Volunteers and the 10th Cavalry, a distinguished group of black “buffalo soldiers” who constructed many of the stone buildings still surrounding the old post quadrangle.
At first, the garrison was called “Camp Wichita” and was referred to by the Indians as “the Soldier House at Medicine Bluffs.” Sheridan later named it in honor of his West Point classmate and friend, Brigadier General Joshua W. Sill, who was killed during the American Civil War. The first post commander was Brevet Maj. Gen. Benjamin Grierson and the first Indian agent was Colonel Albert Gallatin Boone, grandson of Daniel Boone. As of June 2012, Major General Mark McDonald is Other forts in the frontier fort the commanding general of the system were Forts Griffin, Fires Center of Excellence and Concho, Belknap, Chadbourne, Fort Sill. Fort Stockton, Fort Davis, The site of Fort Sill was staked Fort Bliss, McKavett, Clark, out on 8 January 1869, by Maj. Fort McIntosh, Fort Inge, Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, who Phantom Hill, and Richardson led a campaign into Indian in Texas. There were “sub Territory to stop hostile tribes posts or intermediate stations” from raiding border settlements including Bothwick’s Station on Salt Creek between in Texas and Kansas. Fort Richardson and Fort Sheridan’s massive winter Belknap, Camp Wichita near campaign involved six cavalry Buffalo Springs between Fort regiments accompanied by Richardson and Red River frontier scouts such as Buffalo Station, and Mountain Pass World Views Guides
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between Fort Concho and Fort Griffin. 1.
Peace policy
Several months after the establishment of Fort Sill, President Ulysses Grant approved a peace policy placing responsibility for the Southwest tribes under Quaker Indian agents; the first Quaker agent assigned to the Kiowa and Comanche agency was Lawrie Tatum. Fort Sill soldiers were restricted from taking punitive action against the Indians, who interpreted this as a sign of weakness. The Indians resumed raiding the Texas frontier and used Fort Sill as a sanctuary. In 1871, General of the Army William Tecumseh Sherman arrived at Fort Sill from Fort Richardson, Texas, while on a tour of Army posts throughout the country. Sherman was at Fort Richardson when they became aware of the Warren Wagon Train Raid, in which seven muleskinners were killed by Indians when their wagon train was ambushed. Soon after Sherman arrived at Fort Sill, the Indian Agent brought several Kiowa chiefs to tell their story about attacking the wagon train. When Sherman ordered their arrest during a meeting on Grierson’s porch, two of the Indians attempted to assassinate him. In memory
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of the event, the Commanding Cheyennes went to war and General’s quarters were the South Plains shook with dubbed Sherman House. the hoofbeats of Indian raiders. The Army arrested three chiefs The resulting Red River War, during the porch skirmish: which lasted a year, was a war Satank, Satanta and Addo-etta of attrition involving relentless (Big Tree). Sherman ordered pursuit by converging military columns. them to Texas for a civil trial for the murders. When the three were put into a wagon and taken under cavalry escort to Fort Richardson, Satank began his death song. A mile down the trail, he grabbed the carbine of one of the troopers in the wagon. Before he could cock and fire it, he was hit by several shots fired by the escort. Satank was left against a tree and the column continued on its mission. A marker on Berry Road near the curve marks the spot where Satank, an honored warrior, fell. His grave is in Chiefs Knoll in the post cemetery.
Satanta and Addo-etta were tried by Texas courts on 5 and 6 July, the first time Indians had been tried in civil courts. They were sentenced to death by hanging. Supporters of the Quaker peace policy convinced Governor Edmund J. Davis to commute the Indians’ sentences to life imprisonment. Then in October 1873 they were paroled.
Without a chance to graze their livestock and faced with a disappearance of the great buffalo herds, the tribes eventually surrendered. Quanah Parker and his Kwahadi Comanches were the last to abandon the struggle and their arrival at Fort Sill in June 1875, marked the end of Indian warfare on the south Plains.
In 1877, the first AfricanAmerican to graduate from West Point, Henry O. Flipper, was assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, the famous Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Sill. In addition to his leadership duties in the cavalry, he directed his men to dig a ditch to drain a swamp ... this is still called Flipper’s Ditch and a landmark is on Upton Road by the Fort Sill Golf Course.
Unlike other U.S. territories, Indian Territory had no organized government so Army posts like Fort Reno, Fort Supply and Fort Sill found themselves the most significant 2. Red River War federal and legal presence in a In June 1874, the Comanches, wide territory. They provided Kiowas and Southern protection to Indians and
civilians alike, sometimes dealt as mediators between the Indians and the Indian agents, and protected the various Indian tribes against intrusion by the infamous Sooners. At one point in the 1880s, the post was nearly deserted when gold was rumored to have been found in the nearby Wichita Mountains and officers and soldiers alike rushed to stake claims. 3.
Geronimo
In 1894, Geronimo and 341 other Chiricahua Apache prisoners of war were brought to Fort Sill, where they lived in villages scattered around the post. After a couple of years, Geronimo was granted permission to travel with Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show and he joined the Indian contingent at several annual World Expositions and Indian Expositions in the 1890s and early 1900s. Geronimo and other Indians leaders rode in the inaugural parade of president Theodore Roosevelt and met the president himself during that trip. Geronimo and the other Apache prisoners had free range of Fort Sill. He was a member of Fort Sill’s Native Scouts, but he did make at least one documented attempt to escape the fort, though not in the dramatic fashion of jumping off the steep Medicine World Views Guides | June 2014
Bluffs on his horse in a hail of bullets as popularized in the 1939 movie, Geronimo (which was the inspiration for parachutists of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment to yell his name when they jumped out of aircraft). Once, after visiting the off-post home of chief Quanah Parker, Geronimo decided to escape to his homeland in Arizona late one night rather than return to Fort Sill. He was captured the next day. He died of pneumonia in 1909 and is buried at Fort Sill. The rest of the Apaches remained on Fort Sill until 1913. The Chiricahua had been promised the lands surrounding the fort by the US government; however local non-Indians resisted their settlement. In 1914 two-thirds of the tribe moved onto the Mescalero Apache Reservation and the remaining third settled on allotments around Fletcher and Apache, Oklahoma. They became what is known today as the Fort Sill Apache Tribe. Lt. Hugh L. Scott commanded Troop L of the 7th Cavalry, a unit consisting entirely of Indians and considered one of the best in the west. Indian scout I-See-O and other members of the troop are credited with helping tribes on the South Plains avert the Bloody Ghost Dance uprising of the 1890s
in which many Indians were Artillery School. At various brutally murdered by the US times Fort Sill has also served Army on the North Plains. as home to the Infantry School of Musketry, the School for 4. The frontier Aerial Observers, the Artillery Officers Candidate School disappears (Robinson Barracks), the Air The last Indian lands in Service Flying School and Oklahoma opened for the Army Aviation School. In settlement in 1901. 29,000 1917, the Henry Post Army homesteaders registered at Airfield was constructed Fort Sill during July for the for artillery observation and land lottery. On 6 August the spotting. town of Lawton sprang up and World War I, quickly grew to become the During third largest city in Oklahoma. Montgomery M. Macomb, a Brigadier General and career With the disappearance of Artillery officer who had the frontier, the mission of retired in 1916, was recalled to Fort Sill gradually changed active duty to command Fort from cavalry to field artillery. Sill and oversee the the schools During the 1890s, the post and training programs that declined in importance, and prepared soldiers for combat was considered for closure, in France. with the land being given to the Chiricahua Apaches, The Fort Sill was once the site of first artillery battery arrived at a large Boot Hill cemetery. Fort Sill in 1902 and the last Many soldiers who were killed cavalry regiment departed in during the Indian wars were May 1907. The artillery units buried there as were multiple outlaws or their victims. required more facilities, so plans were made to replace the original structures with more 1. Early Aviation at Fort modern buildings. However, Sill William H. Taft, then Secretary Fort Sill also contains the of War, intervened to save the birthplace of military combat original buildings. He ordered aviation, located at the parade the fort to expand to the south field at the Old Post Quadrangle and west. at Fort Sill. The School of Fire for the Field Artillery was founded at Fort Sill in 1911 and continues to operate today as the world renowned U.S. Army Field
Here, the 1st Aero Squadron, under Captain Benjamin D. Foulois, uncrated their new, unassembled airplanes and put
them together in 1915. They then pushed their Curtiss JN-2 planes down hill to the Polo field. On 10 August, they made their first flights. Unfortunately, the first airplane accident came just two days later, on 12 August 1915. Lt. Rondondo B. Sutton, the pilot, was hospitalized, but his passenger, Captain George H. Knox, the paymaster of Fort Sill, was killed. According to the Lawton Constitution newspaper article, there was a large crowd of civilians at the field to see the aircraft in flight – and were, consequently, there to see the results of the accident. The large crowd of men, women and children were horrified, according to the paper. Soon after, on 5 September, another plane was lost in a second crash, after which Foulois grounded the remaining planes out of concern for safety. Undaunted, the squadron began trials with the field artillery to see if they could perform reconnaissance of field positions, but the results were disappointing, mostly due to inadequate equipment. New equipment was ordered and by 14 October, operations with the field artillery were resumed. On 22 October, Lt. T.D. Milling made the first two flights to test aerial photography using a Brock
camera. On 6 November, the The 1st Aero Squadron squadron successfully made a was part of that army. They photo mosaic of 42 plates. transferred to Casas Grandes in The squadron left Fort Sill on 19 Mexico and began duties flying delivering November on a cross-country reconnaissance, trip from which they would not mail and dispatches and return. They flew six planes to transporting senior officers. Fort Sam Houston, Texas, a These simple tasks were more total of 439 miles in a historic than their airplanes (designed cross-country distance flight. for training, not combat) could The aviators were supported handle. They didn’t have by a trail of supply-laden heavy enough power to fly over the trucks and their mechanics on mountains of northern Mexico. motorcycles. The flight arrived One rain storm dumped nearly on 26 November, without any a foot of water into the cockpit major incidents delaying them. of Foulois’ craft and flooded out his engine. He successfully The squadron was kept in managed to land his plane Texas because of tension without power. Additionally, along the U.S.-Mexico border. every landing in Mexico was Mexican revolutionary Pancho carried out in hostile territory. Villa felt betrayed that the Many pilots found themselves U.S. government recognized cut off from friendly lines Venustiano Carranza’s with little more than their Mexican government. Villa wits to rescue them from began to attack Americans hostile Mexicans and Mexican in northern Mexico. On 9 officials. March 1916, Villa’s troops attacked Columbus, N.M. The squadron flew 540 and a detachment of the 13th missions in Mexico – averaging Cavalry. The town was burned 36 miles per mission. After and the Americans suffered six weeks, they were done. eighteen soldiers and civilians Their airplanes were worn killed and eight wounded. out, and two had crashed. President Woodrow Wilson Four others needed parts and ordered Gen. John J. Pershing were grounded. For weeks to lead 4,800 men into Mexico afterward, crew members to capture Villa. Villa was and pilots had blisters from never killed but did receive carving new propellers out of a wound from being shot by logs. On 20 April 1916, the one of his own men while Army ordered the squadron being chased by troops under back to Columbus, N.M. Their only real military success General Pershing.
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was finding a lost and thirsty redesignated as Squadron A, cavalry column. Post Field, Okla. on 22 July The 1st Aero Squadron 1918. It was demobilized, due received new airplanes, but to the end of World War I, on these were hurriedly packed 2 Jan 1919. Today, the 3rd by the factory, were all Flying Training Squadron, missing parts and required which traces its lineage to significant modifications. The the 3rd Aero Squadron, trains squadron did not again take to pilots at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Okla. the field until they deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. Today, the 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron of the U.S. Air Forces traces their unit heritage to the 1st Aero Squadron.
The 4th Aero Squadron was also sent to Post Airfield that summer. The 4th operated as an observation school for the field artillery until it was demobilized on 2 Jan 1919. Today, the 394th Combat Training Squadron at 2. Henry Post Army Whiteman AFB, Mo., traces its lineage to the 4th Aero Airfield Squadron. In August 1917, Capt. H.R. Eyrich surveyed a new A variety of units were airfield location at Fort Sill created, inactivated, assigned and established Henry Post and reassigned as the Army’s Army Airfield (named after aviation assets grew. In 1922, 2nd Lt. Henry Post who was Fort Sill was considered the busiest airport in the U.S. killed in a plane crash in San Diego in 1914). The field Aviation at Fort Sill added occupies a small plateau about lighter-than-air ships to its a mile south of the main post inventory when Company A, cantonment area. Construction 1st Balloon Squadron, arrived immediately began on wooden on 5 September 1917 from hangars, offices and officer the Balloon School in Omaha, housing. As the U.S. entered Nebraska. The company split World War I, the airfield was to form the 25th and 26th used to train aerial observers Balloon Companies on 16 for the field artillery. February and 2 April 1918. In On 29 August 1917 the 3rd Aero Squadron left Fort Sam Houston for Fort Sill with 12 Curtiss R4 airplanes under the command of Capt. Weir. It was World Views Guides
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order to meet the demand for trained aerial observers for field artillery, a Balloon Corps Training School was set up at Post Field in 1918. During
World War I, the school trained 751 officers and created 89 companies, of which 33 were deployed to Europe. The school used balloons and fixed wing aircraft for aerial observation. Both sausageshaped “captured” balloons and spherical-shaped “free” balloons were used in the 1920s and 30s. The balloonists were trained on free flight on the “free” balloons, but they had to stay within 50 miles of post and 8,000 feet. The tethered or “captured” balloons were for observation only – connected to winch trucks on the ground by cable and transported at speeds as high as 60 miles an hour. They were inflated with hydrogen and operated at a maximum height of 4,300 feet. They observed and relayed firecorrective information to special operation trucks. At this time, balloon companies were a corps-level asset. The Army of World War I included an aero squadron in every corps. Other auxiliary units for a corps were an antiaircraft machine-gun and antiaircraft artillery battalion, a remount depot a bakery company, a troop transport train, a telegraph battalion, a field signal battalion, a photo section and a sales commissary unit.
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Self-propelled balloons were developed at Post Field in 1937. These balloons were designed to be powered to an observation point, their motors removed and observation baskets were attached. The famous balloon hangar, moved from Moffitt Field to Fort Sill in 1934, was intended to house dirigibles. The unique “cross” on the side of the building has no religious significance – it is part of an air circulation system designed to dry balloon fabric and parachutes. Balloons were assigned to the field until 1941. The most famous balloon pilot trained at Fort Sill was Gen. Barksdale Hamlett, Jr. This four-star general was the commandant of the American sector of Berlin during the 1958 Berlin Crisis, became the vice chief of staff of the Army, played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis and in the escalation of the Vietnam War. One of the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced technical units, the 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska., traces its lineage through the 1st Balloon Company. 1.
An enduring legacy – Fort Sill aviation
The 44th Aero Squadron was assigned to support the Field Artillery School at Post
Field in August 1922. It was reassigned on 31 July 1927 to the Air Corps Training Center. The unit today is not active. It was replaced by the 88th Observation Squadron, which moved from Brooks Field, Texas, to Fort Sill in Sept. 1928. The 88th left Post Field in 1931 and today is known as the 436th Training Squadron out of Dyess AFB, Texas. In the 1930s the WPA and Army built several new permanent structures to replace the World War I-era tar paper buildings. Building 4908, the aircraft maintenance hangar built in 1932, is the oldest building at the airfield. 2.
Field artillery officers and the Olympics
Fort Sill, Oklahoma and the field artillery branch saw their only Olympic medals awarded in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Lieutenant Richard Mayo The first medal came from a totally unexpected source – a wiry field artillery lieutenant who took part in the pentathlon. In those years for the pentathlon, the competitors completed five different events on consecutive days (horse riding, fencing, pistol shooting, a 200 meter freestyle swim and a 3 kilometer cross-country run). In the pentathlon, competitors are ranked in the order they
finish in each event and all their rankings are added to determine the gold medalist. The lower your points, the better. Mayo started well, finishing second in the horse riding phase behind Bo Lindman of Sweden. Lindman was a favorite, as he previously won gold in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. The next day, Mayo finished well in fencing as he tied with Elemer Somfay of Hungary at 4 ½. Lindman was ranked 2 ½ in fencing, so he held onto the lead with just 3 ½ points. At the end of phase two, the unheralded Mayo was second with 6 ½ points. The shooting results put Mayo in the lead. He finished first and had a total of 7 ½ points. Lindman finished 19th, so the Swede now had 21 ½ points. Carlo Simonetti of Italy came out of the first three rounds with 17 points. Another Swede, Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna, who finished 14th in fencing, brought himself back into competition by finishing second in the shooting phase. Oxentierna had 20 points. With just two events left, the standings were Mayo-7 1//2, Simonetti-17, Oxentierna-20, Lindman-21 ½. Mayo and Simonetti both finished in the pack in the swimming phase – Mayo finished 14 and Simonetti was 15. Meanwhile, the Swedes finished 5 and 9 in the swim World Views Guides | June 2014
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and were in striking distance of Mayo’s lead. Mayo was 3 ½ points ahead of Oxentierna and four points ahead of Thofelt with just the final run. Charles Percy Digby Legard and Jeffrey McDougall of Great Britain finished one-two in the run, but Lindman finished fourth for a total of 35 ½ points. Oxenstierna’s seventh place finish brought his total points to 32. Meanwhile, Mayo finished 17th and with 38 ½ points took the bronze medal. Richard Mayo remained in the Army and made it his career. During World War II, he commanded the 15th Army in combat in France and Germany. Mayo retired in 1956 as a brigadier general Lieutenant Edwin Argo LOS ANGELES, 11 Aug 1932 – Three members of the U.S. Army equestrian team – Maj. Harry Chamberlin, Capt. Edwin Y. Argo and Lieut Earl T. Thomson -started the Three-Day Event at the 1932 Olympics. The three faced the best military riders of Holland, Sweden, Japan and Mexico. On the first day of the event, all riders faced a training test. The second day was an endurance ride of 22 ½ miles over five different courses and the last day was stadium jumping where they rode a course of 12 jumps at a 14-mile per hour gait. Argo, World Views Guides
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the only field artillery officer in this part of the competition, rode Honolulu Tom Boy in a remarkable performance without a fault at a jump during the stadium jumping—the only rider without a fault that day. The U.S. team led from the start and was described by the 1932 Field Artillery Journal as a “glorious achievement for our riders and horses,” as they took the gold medal in the team competition. In the individual standings, Thomson took the silver for the U.S., Chamberlin finished fourth and Argo eighth. (taken from the Field Artillery Journal, Sept.Oct. 1932). Note: At that time, Argo was assigned to 1st Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Okla. 3.
World War present
II
to
By 1940, the Field Artillery School had permission to train its own fixed wing pilots as field artillery spotters. The Army Air Corps turned Post Field over to the FA School and the facility began to swarm with Grasshoppers and Bird Dogs. (single-engine small airplanes) – part of the Department of Air Training.
Texas. After attending one of these primary schools, pilots went to Post Field for their advanced training, which included short field procedures and observer training. By the end of the war, 262 pilots and 2,262 mechanics were trained at Post Field. In 1942, Fort Sill held approximately 700 Japanese Americans interned by the Department of Justice — mostly non-citizen Issei who had been arrested as spies and fifth columnists, despite a lack of evidence supporting the charges against them. 350 of these internees were transfers from Fort Missoula, Montana. One of them, Kanesaburo Oshima, was killed by a guard when he suffered a mental break and attempted to escape on May 12. In addition to the Japanese American inmates, Fort Sill held German prisoners of war. Advancements in air defense artillery and radar systems during the Cold War made the slow-moving Grasshoppers and Bird Dogs easy targets – especially in forward areas. Because of this vulnerability, they were phased out during the Vietnam War. During that conflict, 469 O-1 Bird Dogs were lost to all causes. 284 of these were lost by the Army.
What was originally a fiveweek course was expanded, and special primary flight schools for prospective field artillery pilots were set up at Pittsburg, Kansas, and Denton, The Army Ground Forces
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Air Training School (later designated the Army Aviation School) was established at Post Field on 7 Dec 1945. In Oct. 1948, pilot training for helicopters H25 and H13 began. The first warrant officer class began in 1951. The school was transferred to Fort Rucker in 1954, but Post Field still had an assortment of helicopter units that called it home. In 1963 the 1st Aerial Artillery Group (Provisional) was organized to test equipping CH-34 helicopters with rocket pods attached to each side. The rockets converted a transport aircraft, an easy target in most combat situations, into a sophisticated flying weapon capable of direct or indirect fires. It was the ancestor to the Cheyenne and Long Bow attack helicopters of today. The 295th Aviation Company. (Heavy Helicopter) was established at Fort Sill in the 60s. The unit was assigned ten Skycrane CH-54A helicopters. The unit also had a UH-1H administrative aircraft and later an OH-58 joined the unit. It was the mother company to the 355th Aviation Company (that deployed to Vietnam in 1968–69) and the 273rd Aviation Company (that deployed to Vietnam 1967– 1968.) In Dec. 1969, the unit was deployed to Finthen Army
Airfield near Mainz, Germany. Today, the company is designated F Company, 159th Aviation Regiment (Heavy Lift Helicopter Company) and is equipped with CH-47 Chinooks.
Geronimo. Geronimo is buried in the Apache Cemetery on East Range. Because his grave is off the beaten path, the route is marked with signs. Others buried at Fort Sill include Kiowa Chief Satanta, Post Field is the oldest and Comanche Chief Quanah Parker. continually operating airfield in the U.S. Army. The most controversial cemetery on post lies under 4. Historic recognition Henry Post Army Airfield. The old Indian Agency Fort Sill was declared a Cemetery, which includes both National Historic Landmark in Comanche and white remains, 1960. is located just south of the last hangar at the airfield. In 5. Cemeteries the 1950s, in order to reduce There are various cemeteries the hazard of airplanes or on Fort Sill, with their own helicopters landing or parking histories and significance. in the area, Army engineers The most famous is the Post took down all the grave stones Cemetery, at the intersection and covered the entire area of Macomb and Geronimo with a four-inch cover of Roads. Many Indian chiefs who earth. The earliest known stillsigned the Medicine Lodge existing listing of those buried treaty came to rest at Fort Sill at this cemetery is known as Post Cemetery. Unlike most the “1917 Harper’s List.” For cemeteries of its day, it was many years, the cemetery never segregated. Troopers of sat forgotten by history. In the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1984 Towanna Spivey, an known as the “Buffalo archeologist and curator of the Soldiers” who died at Fort Sill Fort Sill National Landmark lie next to these chiefs. Officers, and Museum, completed scientific investigation soldiers, spouses and children a (and a British commando and of records and the site. He a Chinese cook) lie side-by- identified 64 persons buried side regardless of their race or in that cemetery by name, but another 50 graves were listed social status. as unknown. Out of respect, The most famous person none of the remains have ever buried at Fort Sill is the been dug up or disturbed. Apache warrior known as World Views Guides | June 2014
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3.
Activities today
Field Artillery School and are Section has eight horses A detachment of the United trained alongside their Army – all named after former Counterparts. commanding generals of Fort States Marine Corps, consisting of a firing battery The 77th Army Band (Special Sill) around the turn of the 20th and commanded by a colonel, designation: “The Pride of century. The Half Section was is stationed at Fort Sill. Fort Sill”)) is part of the Fires established in 1969 to celebrate Referred to as the MARDET, Center of Excellence. It was Fort Sill’s Centennial. The the detachment works with the originally organized on 1 Soldiers are volunteers for Field Artillery School to train March 1907 at Fort Du Pont, the show group, while the Marine artillerymen. Marines Delaware as the 13th Band, horses, their equipment and transportation are provided also serve as gunnery and fire Coast Artillery. support instructors at the Field Another special detachment through charitable donations. Artillery Officer Basic Course, is the Field Artillery Half The popular Half Section has and as small group leaders at Section, an eight-man group appeared in regional parades, the Field Artillery Captains’ representative of the “flying local festivities, change of Career Course. All Marine artillery” which was drawn command ceremonies and artillery officers attend the by a team of horses (the Half a presidential inauguration parade.
World Views Guides
| June 2014
CM Ladies Bailbonds Spanish Speaking
24 Hour Service Monday - Sunday 1511 W Gore Blvd Ste 2, Lawton, OK 73501
(580) 355-4757
First Baptist Church
Watch Our Services Sundays at 100:00AM
501 SW B Avenue
580-353-1770 www.fbclawton.org