Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City, city, Canadian, Cleveland, and Oklahoma counties, capital of Oklahoma state, U.S., and seat (1907) of Oklahoma county. It lies along the North Canadian River near the centre of the state, about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Tulsa. The city site, at an elevation of about 1,200 feet (365 metres), is located in a valley that slopes up into gently rolling hills. The region’s climate is typical of the southern Great Plains, with long, hot summers and cool, short winters. Precipitation is moderate, with most falling during the warm months.

Oklahoma City, the largest municipality in the state, lies at the centre of a six-county metropolitan area. Nearby communities include Edmond (north), Midwest City (east), Norman (south), and El Reno (west). Area city, 621 square miles (1,608 square km). Pop. (2010) 579,999; Oklahoma City Metro Area, 1,252,987; (2020) 681,054; Oklahoma City Metro Area, 1,425,695.

History

The site for the city was located in an area of Indian Territory that was unassigned to any particular Native American group. Cattle ranchers entered the region, and would-be settlers began to demand that it be opened for settlement. Born of the “Run of ’89,” Oklahoma City came into being on April 22, 1889, when approximately 10,000 homesteaders staked land claims near Oklahoma Station (a stop established in 1887 on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway). A provisional town government was organized at a mass meeting in May 1889, but it was not until May 2, 1890, with the organization of the Oklahoma Territory, that its incorporation became official. While the name Oklahoma City was in popular use from the city’s beginning, the U.S. Post Office did not adopt the name until 1923.

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The city developed as a distribution point for crops and cattle; its designation as the state capital in 1910 stimulated its growth. Meatpacking plants were established, and, with the arrival of more railroads, wholesale trade increased. Now a major transportation centre, it is the chief marketing and processing point for the state’s vast livestock industry and a shipping point for cotton, wheat, and cattle. The first oil well in the Oklahoma City pool came in on December 4, 1928. At one time about 1,400 wells were producing oil within the city limits, including some on the state capitol grounds. Although the number of wells has dropped to a few hundred, oil has remained important to the local economy.

Through numerous annexations since 1950, Oklahoma City has become one of the country’s largest cities in land area. Its population has grown steadily, surpassing 100,000 in the 1920s and 300,000 in the 1950s. People of European ancestry have constituted the great majority of the population since the early days, although their proportion has slowly declined. African Americans constitute about one-seventh and Hispanics an increasing one-tenth of the total. There are also small but significant communities of Native Americans and Asians.

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On April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City became the site of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil when a truck bomb destroyed part of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area, killing 168 people and injuring more than 500. Timothy J. McVeigh was found guilty of the bombing in 1997 and was executed in 2001. The Oklahoma City National Memorial, established in 1997, encompasses an outdoor memorial, a museum, and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.

The contemporary city

Oklahoma City has become one of the nation’s foremost aviation centres, Tinker Air Force Base (a large logistics and communications base just southeast of the city) and the Federal Aviation Administration’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center for training in air safety and aviation technology being major installations. The city’s highly diversified manufactures include petroleum products, executive aircraft, industrial machinery, electronics, automobiles, automotive parts, tires, computer equipment, and chemicals. Services, especially government, are a major part of the economy; health care, education, tourism, and customer service operations are also important. Oklahoma City is a distribution centre, particularly for food, and area farms produce cattle and wheat. Stockyards City was founded in 1910 as a livestock market and meat-processing centre; although meatpacking ended in the early 1960s, Stockyards City remained one of the world’s largest cattle markets into the 21st century. Many original businesses continue to provide services and supplies for farmers, ranchers, and cowboys.

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Oklahoma City University was founded in 1904, Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City in 1961, and Oklahoma City Community College in 1969. The Health Sciences Center of the University of Oklahoma is also in the city, and several other institutions of higher education are in the metropolitan area.

Oklahoma City is the home of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Oklahoma State Museum of History has an outstanding collection of Native American artifacts. The Oklahoma State Fair is held in the city each September, and State Fair Park is the scene of the International Finals Rodeo in January. Other annual events include the Red Earth Festival (Native American culture; June), a bluegrass festival in nearby Guthrie (October), and several horse shows.

Myriad Botanical Gardens (1988), a 17-acre (7-hectare) recreational park located downtown, has gardens, an amphitheatre, and the seven-story Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory. Other attractions include the Oklahoma City Zoo; the Harn Homestead, preserving an 1889 claim; the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame; and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Omniplex, northeast of downtown, contains museums of science, aerospace, Native American culture, and photography, as well as art galleries, a planetarium, and gardens. The 1917 state capitol building was one of only a few in the country lacking a dome until 2002, when work was completed on a 155-foot- (47-metre-) tall dome. Bricktown, once an industrial warehouse neighbourhood, was renovated in the 1990s into a popular restaurant, shopping, and entertainment district.