Purcell, Oklahoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purcell, Oklahoma USA "The Heart of Oklahoma" is a small city in central Oklahoma situated on a bluff overlooking the South Canadian river and is an outer suburb, (or exurb) within the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population of the city itself is estimated at 6,000 in 2006 and was 5,571 at the 2000 census. The Purcell micropolitan area is estimated at 30,000.It is the county seat, business and employment center of McClain County(population 27,740) and surrounding areas.GR6
Railroad Beginnings
Purcell was founded as a railroad town in 1887, with the coming of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The town is named in honor of ATSF railroad director Edward Benton (E.B.) Purcell, of Manhattan, Kansas.
Micropolitan Trade Area
Purcell is encircled by surrounding towns of Lexington to the east, Wayne and Payne to the southeast, Washington, Cole and Goldsby to the west, Dibble and Criner to the southwest, as well as unincorporated rural areas of McClain and southern Cleveland counties. The City of Purcell, and it's surrounding communities form a retail trade area of approximately 30,000. A Walmart Supercenter, an easily recognized benchmark of retail trade activity, was constructed in 2006 to serve this steadily growing trade area. The Purcell Area Chamber of Commerce adopted a new name "Heart of Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce" in 2006 to reflect the emerging micropolitan trade area, within the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area.
Revitalized downtown
Purcell's downtown business district and it's many historic buildings underwent major improvements and revitalization at a cost of over 1 Million dollars in the 1990's, through participation in the "U.S. Main Street" program, which included new sidewalks, Victorian lamp posts, store front restorations, and landscape islands in the downtown area.
Major Highways
The central core of Purcell, OK is at the intersection of US77 and Oklahoma State Highways OKSH 74/39. Interstate highway access to I-35 is at the north and south ends of the town.
Historic Places
Purcell has 3 listings on the National Register of Historic Places:
Hotel Love, a turn of the century 3 story Victorian style brick building downtown, currently houses antique store, bed and breakfast inn, and retail offices/storefronts.
McClain County Courthouse, an original turn of the century 3 story building which underwent a 2 million dollar preservation/restoration in 1995.
James C. Nance Memorial Bridge, the bridge which spans the South Canadian River, and connects Purcell OK to nearby Lexington OK is named for the former Oklahoma Legislative leader and newspaper Publisher, longtime Purcell OK resident.
Airport named for Military hero killed in Iraq war
The Purcell Municipal Airport was renamed in 2005, as the Stephen Shephard Memorial/Purcell Airport. The Mayor, City Council and Airport Commission voted to honor US Pilot and Flight Instructor Stephen Shephard, a Purcell High School Alumni who lost his life serving his country in the Iraq war.
Recreational Facilities/Golf
Purcell has 2 privately owned health clubs, and a municipal pool, and a public 18 hole golf course, laid out on a rolling area near the Purcell Lake. The course is named "Brent Bruehl Memorial Golf Course" in honor of a talented young Purcell High School golf player, whose life was ended by cancer in the mid 1970's.
[edit] Geography
Purcell is located at (35.017465, -97.369537)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 km² (10.4 mi²). 25.8 km² (9.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (4.24%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,571 people, 2,120 households, and 1,500 families residing in the city. The population density was 216.2/km² (560.1/mi²). There were 2,320 housing units at an average density of 90.0/km² (233.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.60% White, 2.21% African American, 6.53% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 4.51% from other races, and 4.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.09% of the population.
There were 2,120 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,283, and the median income for a family was $36,128. Males had a median income of $25,494 versus $18,919 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,261. About 12.5% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
[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
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