Duncan is a city located in Stephens County, Oklahoma. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 22,505. It is the county seat of Stephens County.
Duncan is the birthplace of Ron Howard, Hoyt Axton, and Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Geography
Duncan is located at 34°30'60" North, 97°56'58" West (34.516619, -97.949377)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 119.1 km² (46.0 mi²). 100.5 km² (38.8 mi²) of it is land and 18.7 km² (7.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 15.67% water.
History
The Chisholm Trail passed to the east of Duncan prior to the town's founding. An estimated 9,800,000 Longhorn cattle were herded up the trail between Texas and Abilene, Kansas during its existence. After learning that an extension of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was being built from Kansas to Texas, Scotsman William Duncan brought his wife, parents, and other relatives and created a trading post situated at the intersection of the north-south Chisholm Trail and the east-west military passage between Fort Arbuckle and Fort Sill. The first train arrived on June 27, 1892; that date is considered the official birthdate of the town.
The town persevered despite several setbacks; a devastating tornado destroyed almost every store and building on Main Street in 1898 and there were four fires in 1901, not to mention the Depression and Dust Bowl years. In 1908, a 14-year-old black youth visiting from Chickasha, Oklahoma, a town 30 miles north, was accused of "accosting" an 11-year-old white girl. He was taken into custody and a lynch mob formed. Sheriff's deputies had to surround the courthouse to prevent the lynching. The crowd turned its anger on the 200 or so "negro" inhabitants of the southeast section of town, posting notices in that quarter that every person of color had to leave town immediately. These inhabitants gathered up their belongings and boarded a south-bound Rock Island Railroad train immediately. They were met on arrival in Fort Worth, Texas, by the Tarrant County Sheriff, who told them they were welcome to stay as long as they didn't get into trouble and found work immediately. The black youth was tried, found guilty and served a prison sentence. The citizens of the town were praised by the newspaper for their "restraint and good sense." 60 years later, Duncan's school system was finally integrated as the blacks-only Douglass School was closed and its students were absorbed into white schools. The integration of the community swimming pools occurred at about this time as well.
Centrally located in Stephens County, OK, Duncan was made the county seat in the first years of the 20th Century. As a compromise between residents of the northern and southern parts of the county, the county courthouse was located in the middle of Duncan's Main Street, half of it in the northern part of the city and county and half in the southern. Main Street made a wide circle around it on both ends. This arrangement ended in the late 1960s when a new courthouse was built a few blocks away; the old courthouse was demolished and Main Street once again ran straight.
Duncan once adopted the slogan, "The Buckle on the Oil Belt." Its main claim to fame is as the birthplace of the Halliburton Corporation . Erle P. Halliburton perfected a new method of cementing wells, making oil production much easier and more profitable, and established the New Method Oil Well Cementing Company in 1919. He died in 1957, at which time the company had 201 offices in 22 states and 20 foreign countries. Its reach has, of course, grown far beyond that. Operations have largely shifted to Houston, Texas but a large manufacturing center, energy institute and other endeavors are still ongoing in Duncan.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 22,505 people, 9,406 households, and 6,424 families residing in the city. The population density is 224.0/km² (580.2/mi²). There are 10,795 housing units at an average density of 107.4/km² (278.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 86.48% White, 4.07% African American, 3.95% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.36% from other races, and 2.63% from two or more races. 5.99% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,406 households out of which 28.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% are married couples living together, 10.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% are non-families. 28.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 2.88.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,373, and the median income for a family is $37,080. Males have a median income of $31,173 versus $19,731 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,643. 15.4% of the population and 11.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 22.1% of those under the age of 18 and 11.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
Last updated: 06-01-2005 20:08:42
