Broken Bow, Oklahoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broken Bow is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,230 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Broken Bow, Nebraska, the former hometown of the city's founders, the Dierks brothers.
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[edit] Geography
Broken Bow is located at (34.029784, -94.737656)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.1 km² (5.0 mi²). 13.0 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is land, and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.40%) is water.
The city of Broken Bow stands in a unique transition zone between the Red River basin and the Ouachita Mountains, creating beautiful scenery in and around the city. North of Broken Bow is Broken Bow Lake, created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers by damming the Mountain Fork River near present-day Hochatown, Oklahoma. The original city of Hochatown was forced to relocate to its current location on U.S. Route 259 when the lake was created.
[edit] Economic Development
In recent years, Broken Bow has seen a tremendous economic boom through the development of its timber and tourism industries.
[edit] Tourism
In addition to being home of Broken Bow Lake, the city is a gateway for tourists visiting Beavers Bend Resort Park, Hochatown State Park, and Cedar Creek Golf Course at Beavers Bend.
[edit] Timber
The forest industry is by far the area's largest business concern. Each year some 60 million cubic feet of lumber are harvested in McCurtain County, and great care is taken to ensure the prolonged health of local pine and hardwood forests. The Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture Forestry Division and United States Forest Service have a large presence in the area and are constantly surveying the area forests in order to prevent wildfires.
Weyerhaeuser Company operates large plants in nearby Valliant and Wright City. Additionally, Weyerhaeuser maintains several pine tree plantations throughout McCurtain County. Pan Pacific Industries operates a fiberboard plant on the west side of Broken Bow. Huber Engineered Woods is the latest big player to enter the area, with a very large oriented strand board (OSB) plant, also on the west side of Broken Bow. Huber plans to employ about 160 people at the site and expects to create another 250 jobs within the local community.
[edit] Athletics
While Broken Bow's athletic history is limited primarily to high school football, it is recognized as one of the top high school programs in the state of Oklahoma. The Broken Bow Savages currently hold four state football championships, ranking third in class AAAA in the state, behind the Clinton Red Tornadoes (14) and the Ada Cougars (19). In addition to their four state championships, the Savages have numerous state title game appearances, the most recent of which came in 2004 when the Savages lost to Clinton.
The Savages own a slight lead in their all-time series with their rival, the Idabel Warriors. The Little River Rumble (named for the river that flows between Broken Bow and Idabel) is played every year between these two schools and is one of the oldest rivalries in the state, dating back nearly an entire century. For some time, it was believed the Little River Rumble was the oldest continuous-running rivalry game in the state of Oklahoma, until it was discovered the two schools did not play each other one season during World War II. The rivalry is hotly contested, and it's not an uncommon sight to see students from either town besieging the other, flying the flag of their school (black, white, and gold for the Savages, red and black for the Warriors). A gold traveling trophy, as well as bragging rights, is at stake every year when the two McCurtain County schools tangle. Currently, the Savages own a five-game winning streak against the Warriors.
Historic Broken Bow Memorial Stadium has served as the home of the Savages since it was constructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. Built primarily of concrete and native rock, Memorial Stadium is one of the oldest and largest high school football stadiums in the state of Oklahoma.
[edit] Band
Although Broken Bow High School is primarily known for their athletics program, they have also achieved a well known reputation for their high school marching band. Despite the size of their ensemble, the Black and Gold Regiment have been known for their achievements in playing and marching ability. For the past ten years, Broken Bow High School Band has received Superior Rating at the McAlester Regional Marching Contest and have placed in class 4A in every marching competition that they competed in this past season.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 4,230 people, 1,621 households, and 1,108 families residing in the city. The population density was 325.3/km² (841.8/mi²). There were 1,823 housing units at an average density of 140.2/km² (362.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.23% White, 9.43% African American, 17.80% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.06% from other races, and 6.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.32% of the population.
There were 1,621 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $18,068, and the median income for a family was $20,676. Males had a median income of $20,398 versus $17,155 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,028. About 34.8% of families and 38.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.2% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or ov
[edit] Popular Media
In "Broken Bow", the 2001 pilot episode of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, Broken Bow was the site of Human-Klingon first contact in 2151. A messenger named Klangg was shot down by the Suliban over a corn field. Shortly after dispatching his enemies, Klangg was shot by a farmer named Moore. Although severely injured, Klangg survived. It is worth noting that the area depicted in this episode is flat farmland, whereas the area around Broken Bow in the present day is hilly and forested.
Broken Bow and the surrounding area also served as the location for the episode "19:19" of the television series Millennium, in which Frank Black led a search for children abducted by a crazed visionary who believed he was the one destined to carry out the Book of Revelation's instructions. The children were entombed in an abandoned quarry and were ultimately saved from a deadly tornado that destroyed the schoolhouse where the kids otherwise would have been.
[edit] External links
- Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce
- Broken Bow Public Schools
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
