Ardmore, Oklahoma

Ardmore is a city in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2005 census estimates, the city had a population of 24,280. It is the county seat of Carter County. Ardmore is located 90 miles equidistant from Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas near the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 70. Geologically speaking, Ardmore is situated about 16 km south of the Arbuckle Mountains, and is located at the eastern margin of the Healdton Basin, one of the most oil-rich regions of the United States.

Ardmore was named for the Pennsylvania Main Line suburb of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, which, in turn, was named for Ardmore, Ireland.

History

Ardmore, Indian Territory began with a plowed ditch for a Main Street in the summer of 1887 in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation. It owes much of its existence to the construction of the Santa Fe railroad through the area during that time. It grew, as most frontier towns grew, over the years into a trading outpost for the region. A large fire in 1895 destroyed much of the fledgling town, which forced residents to rebuild nearly the entire town. In the early 1900s, Ardmore became well known for its abundance of cotton growing fields and eventually became known as the world's largest inland cotton port.

After the fields were stripped of their fertility, however, the city fortunately found itself positioned next to one of the largest oil fields ever produced in Oklahoma, the Healdton Oil Field. After the initial discovery in 1913, entrepreneurs and wildcatters flooded the area, and Carter County quickly became the largest producing county in Oklahoma. Ardmore has remained an energy center for the region ever since, with the region's natural wealth giving birth to such energy giants as Halliburton and the Noble companies, among others. Ardmore also learned the perils of being energy-rich with yet another disaster in 1915, when a railroad car containing casing gas exploded, killing 45 people and destroying much of downtown, including areas rebuilt after the 1895 fire. The disaster, which made national news at the time, gave residents the resolve to establish the city's first fire department to ensure that such events would not compound themselves in the future. The city has not experienced any major setbacks since the 1915 fire, save for a 1995 tornado that nearly destroyed the Uniroyal Goodrich (now Michelin) Tire Plant in west Ardmore. Despite a shift at the plant working at the time, miraculously no one was killed as the tornado ripped through the area.

Ardmore gained relative notoriety in May of 2003 when the 51 Democrats from the Texas Legislature defected to Ardmore as to avoid a hotly-contested redistricting battle, which invariably led to a case that was settled in June 2006 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Geography

Ardmore is located at (34.181240, -97.129363).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 129.5 km² (50.0 mi²). 127.2 km² (49.1 mi²) of it is land and 2.3 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (1.74%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,711 people, 9,646 households, and 6,308 families residing in the city. The population density was 186.4/km² (482.7/mi²). There were 10,926 housing units at an average density of 85.9/km² (222.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.02% White, 11.27% African American, 8.78% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.70% of the population.

There were 9,646 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,046, and the median income for a family was $37,758. Males had a median income of $28,685 versus $23,070 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,502. About 13.6% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Being home to many pioneers in the dawn of the American oil industry, Ardmore has been blessed with riches far beyond most cities of its size, as well as the colorful past that often accompanies such 'instant' wealth. Such wealth has been channeled into many philanthropical endeavors, as well as reinvested into the area in various art and infrastructure endowments.

Such amenities include:

Charles B. Goddard Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, sponsors various exhibits and productions brought into the region.
Greater Southwest Historical Museum
Ardmore Little Theatre
Ardmore Convention Center, newest convention facility in region.
Hardy Murphy Coliseum, historic WPA-built facility that hosts rodeos, cutting shows and various regional events.

Ardmore is also home to a number of cultural festivals:

Ardmoredillo Chili Cookoff, early April.
Red River Roadkill Rally, bicycling event, early June.
Festival of Lights, Ardmore Regional Park, late November to December 31.

Colleges & Universities

Ardmore Higher Education Center, offering courses & degrees from Murray State College, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, East Central University and Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City.

Newspapers & Media

The Daily Ardmoreite, local newspaper since 1893.
KXII-TV (CBS}
KTEN-TV (NBC)
CableONE (Cable Operator)

Transportation

Highways

Interstate 35 is located within the city limits of Ardmore, as it transverses the United States from Duluth, Minnesota to Laredo, Texas.

Ardmore has four exits off of I-35:

Exit 29 (U.S. 70 East)
Exits 31A-B (State Highway 199 East/U.S. 70 West, respectively)
Exit 32 (12th St NW)
Exit 33 (State Highway 142).

In addition to Interstate 35, Ardmore is also home to the junction of U.S. 70 and U.S. 77, OK 142, and OK 199. Ardmore is connected to Lake Murray via OK 77S.

Mass Transit

The historic Santa Fe depot in Downtown Ardmore is also home to a stop on Amtrak's Heartland Flyer train route, with daily service to/from Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.

Ardmore also has a scheduled stop on the Greyhound/Jefferson Bus Lines system.

Southern Oklahoma Rural Transit System (SORTS) provides transit services for the public in Ardmore and the surrounding areas.

Airports

Ardmore has two general aviation airports, Ardmore Downtown Executive Airport and Ardmore Industrial Airpark. The nearest scheduled air service occurs at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, both 90 miles from Ardmore. Ardmore is linked by rail with the DFW Airport via the Heartland Flyer to Trinity Railway Express connection.

Economy

Ardmore is the principal center of trade for a 10 county region in south-central Oklahoma, with a retail pull factor of 1.7 - 1.9. Ardmore's major employers are Michelin North America, with 1,900 employees and Mercy Memorial Health Center, with 900 employees. Several hundred employees work for regional distribution centers for Best Buy, Circuit City, Dollar Tree (Marietta) and Dollar General Stores, among others. The 85,000 bpd Valero Refinery in northeast Ardmore employs some 250 area residents. Ardmore is also home to the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, among the nation's 50 largest private foundations, primarily engaged in agricultural bioresearch activities.

In July 2006, it was announced that the Chinese-owned Nanjing Automobile Group would build an assembly plant at the Ardmore Air Park, 10 miles northeast of Ardmore, for the MG TF Coupe. It would be the first Chinese automaker to build an assembly plant in the United States, and is expected to have statewide payroll of $30 million. The plant is scheduled to open in 2007.

External links

Cities in Oklahoma | Carter County, Oklahoma | County seats in Oklahoma