Checotah, Oklahoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Checotah is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States, named for the first elected Chief of the Creek Nation after the Civil War, Samuel Checote.
Checotah is home to a large number of antique malls, a Civil War battle site and a downtown historic district. Checotah claims to be Steerwrestling Capital of the World. It is the hometown of 2005 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood and country music singer Mel McDaniel as well as Paul H. Carr, the WWII naval hero, for whom the USS Carr (FFG-52) is named. The telephone area code is 918 and the postal ZIP code is 74426.
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[edit] Geography
Checotah is located at (35.471998, -95.523770)GR1 at an elevation of 652 feet, nestled among the intersection of I-40 and U.S. Route 69. Nearby is Lake Eufaula, which was once the largest man-made lake in the nation, with 640 miles of shoreline.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 mi² (23.3 km²). 8.9 mi² (23.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 mi² (0.2 km²) of it (0.67%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 3,481 people, 1,389 households, and 912 families residing in the city. The population density was 389.3/mi² (150.3/km²). There were 1,576 housing units at an average density of 176.3/mi² (68.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.91% White, 6.92% African American, 15.91% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 8.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.
There were 1,389 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 77.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,029, and the median income for a family was $30,741. Males had a median income of $26,094 versus $17,298 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,921. About 16.1% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over. The median house value is $50,500.
For population 25 years and over in Checotah, 64.1% have completed high school or higher, 11.9% possess a Bachelor's degree or higher, 4.7% possess a graduate or professional degree, and 12% are unemployed. The mean travel time to work is 24.6 minutes.
For population 15 years and over in Checotah city, 17.2% have never been married, 55.3% are now married, 2.5% are separated, 14.4% are widowed, and 10.7% are divorced.
As of 2002, Checotah's place on the city-data.com crime index has fallen, but is still above the national average.
The warmest month is July, averaging 81.4°F and with a high of 92.1°F. The coldest month is January, with an average of 36.1°F and a low of 25.8°F. The rainiest month is May, averaging 5.6" of precipitation over an average 11 days of rain, while the driest month is January, averaging 2.0" over 7 days.
The nearest hospital is Community Hospital Lakeview (about 14 miles; EUFAULA, OK). The nearest carrier-certified airport is Tulsa International Airport (about 55 miles; TULSA, OK). The nearest public-use airport is Fountainhead Lodge Airpark (about 9 miles; EUFAULA, OK; ID: 0F7). The nearest college/university with over 2000 students is Northeastern State University (about 50 miles; TAHLEQUAH, OK; Full-time enrollment: 6,610).
The 5 nearest cities are Oktaha, OK (8.0 miles), Texanna, OK (8.4 miles), Eufaula, OK (13.2 miles), Warner, OK (14.9 miles), and Summit, OK (15.0 miles). The nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Broken Arrow, OK (42.9 miles, pop. 74,859). The nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Tulsa, OK (53.7 miles, pop. 393,049). The nearest city with pop. 1,000,000+: Dallas, TX (204.2 miles, pop. 1,188,580).
Checotah is the home to fifteen (15) registered sex-offenders.
Checotah city sales tax is among the highest in the state.
[edit] Checotah compared to Oklahoma state average
- median household income below state average
- median house value below state average
- unemployed percentage above state average
- black race population percentage significantly below state average
- hispanic race population percentage below state average
- foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average
- institutionalized population percentage above state average
- number of college students below state average
- percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average
- population density below state average for cities
[edit] Popular culture
- American Idol season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, wrote a song, "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore", which is all about the little town she grew up in.
[edit] External links
- 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
