Dewey County, Oklahoma
| Dewey County, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
 Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma |
|
 Oklahoma's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | 1891 |
| Seat | Taloga |
| Largest city | Seiling |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,008 sq mi (2,611 km2) |
| • Land | 999 sq mi (2,587 km2) |
| • Water | 8.8 sq mi (23 km2), 0.9% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2013) | 4,844 |
| • Density | 4.8/sq mi (2/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Dewey County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,810. Its county seat is Taloga. The county was created in 1891 as "County D". In an 1898 election, county voters chose the name Dewey, honoring Admiral George Dewey.
Lands assigned to the Choctaw and Seminole tribes extended into the area now occupied by Dewey County. Under the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 the Choctaw and Chickasaw ceded their western domain to the United States. Known as the Leased District, part of the area became the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation.
Dewey County was created in Oklahoma Territory in 1891 and was opened to non-Indian settlement on April 19, 1892. It was then named as County D by an act of Congress, and did not receive its present name until a general election in 1898. A wooden structure in Taloga was used as the county courthouse from 1909 until 1926, when the present courthouse was built.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,008 square miles (2,610 km2), of which 999 square miles (2,590 km2) is land and 8.8 square miles (23 km2) (0.9%) is water.
Most of the county is in the Gypsum Hills physiographic region, except that the western one-fourth of the county is in the High Plains region. It is drained by the Canadian and North Canadian Rivers. Canton Lake, built on the Canadian River in 1966, is the only significant lake or reservoir in the county.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,743 people, 1,962 households, and 1,336 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 2,425 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.16% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 4.64% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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