Anadarko, Oklahoma


Anadarko is a city in and the county seat of Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is 50 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census.
WWW Official Site

History

[Image:Anadarko 1901.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Anadarko Townsite, Oklahoma Territory, August 8, 1901. Tent city in the cornfield.]
Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873. The designation came from the Nadaco Native Americans, a branch of the Caddo Nation, and the "A" was added due to a clerical error.
In 1871, the Wichita Agency was reestablished on the north bank of the Washita River after being destroyed in the American Civil War. The Wichita Agency administered the affairs of the Wichita, Caddo and other tribes. In 1878, the Kiowa-Comanche Agency at Fort Sill was consolidated with the Wichita Agency.
In 1901, the federal government confiscated the lands of the Kiowa, Comanche and Arapaho Reservations, and opened the surplus land to white settlement. On August 6, 1901, an auction was held for homesteads and town lots. Around 5,000 people were living in "Rag Town" on the east edge of Anadarko awaiting the auction. Although 20,000 people were present for auction day, Anadarko's population dwindled to 2,190 in 1907.
Agriculture has been the principal driver of the local economy, since the Washita Valley has been good for crops and livestock. The second pillar of the local economy has been Native American affairs.

Listing as National Register of Historic Places

Anadarko Downtown Historic District was designated as a National Register of Historic Places with the National Park Service on December 10, 1990.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Anadarko had a population of 5,745. The median age was 36.5 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.7 males age 18 and over.
87.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,094 households in Anadarko, of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.2% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,576 housing units, of which 18.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 56.0% were owner-occupied and 44.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.
RacePercent
White30.4%
Black or African American5.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native47.0%
Asian0.5%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander<0.1%
Some other race2.8%
Two or more races14.4%
Hispanic or Latino 12.9%

Culture

Native American significance

Anadarko, the self-titled "Indian Capital of the Nation." It is the capital of the, the and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The city houses the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians.
Anadarko is named after the Nadaco, a Caddo band now affiliated with the Caddo Nation. In the Caddo language, Nadá-kuh means "bumblebee place". The Caddo are a federally recognized Native American tribe for which Caddo County is named. Caddo County is part of the former reservation of the Caddo, Wichita, and Delaware Nation, prior to allotment in the post-Dawes Allotment Era.
Culturally, Anadarko is rare among Oklahoma cities as Native Americans form a near-majority. Locals are often familiar with a few basic Indian words, such as haw-nay, Kiowa for "no." Wichita and Apache words are sometimes employed in casual conversation as well, such as hangy, ah-ho, ebote, and bocote. Native American motifs are commonly used for design, art, and other aspects of daily life.
Anadarko has a Bureau of Indian Affairs office. The town is situated between the Wichita, Caddo, and Delaware reservations to the north, and the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache reservations to the south. These reservations were dismantled by the allotment of tribal lands to individual members, and the opening of the "excess" lands to settlement, in a series of land openings. The area surrounded by Anadarko was opened to settlement by a 1901 land lottery affecting the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita and Caddo lands.
The Anadarko area is home to Riverside Indian School, a Bureau of Indian Education boarding and day school for Native American students.

Education

Anadarko Public Schools consists of three elementary schools, Sunset Elementary, East Elementary, and Mission Elementary; a middle school; and a high school. There are approximately 1,950 students.
Riverside Indian School is near Anadarko.

Notable people