Texoma | |
---|---|
Region | |
Country | United States |
State | Oklahoma Texas |
Largest city | Sherman |
Area | |
• Total | 14,961 km2 (5,776 sq mi) |
• Land | 14,396 km2 (5,558 sq mi) |
• Water | 565 km2 (218 sq mi) 3.8% |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 319,455 |
• Density | 21/km2 (55/sq mi) |
Texoma is an interstate region in the United States, split between Oklahoma and Texas. The name is a portmanteau of Texas and Oklahoma. Businesses use the term in their names to describe their intended service area. This includes 8 counties with a population estimate of 319,455.
Texoma is usually defined as the area on either side of the state border along the Red River valley, in particular the area around Lake Texoma. [1] The surrounding area is alternatively referred to as Texomaland. The Wichita Falls–Lawton and Paris–Hugo areas are often included in Texoma or Texomaland due to their proximity to the Red River and the Texas/Oklahoma border.
Texoma mainly comprises the area and cities surrounding Lake Texoma, which includes eight counties. Much of the population is concentrated in the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area and three Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The area around Bonham is also populous.
Most of the region is also part of the Dallas – Fort Worth Combined Statistical Area. [2]
A portion of Texoma south of Lake Texoma has been designated an American Viticultural Area, the Texoma AVA. The Texas part of Texoma is served by the Texoma Council of Governments. [3]
City | 2010 Census | County |
Sherman, Texas | 38,521 | Grayson County, Texas |
Ardmore, Oklahoma | 24,283 | Carter County, Oklahoma |
Denison, Texas | 22,816 | Grayson County, Texas |
Gainesville, Texas | 16,002 | Cooke County, Texas |
Durant, Oklahoma | 15,856 | Bryan County, Oklahoma |
Bonham, Texas | 10,127 | Fannin County, Texas |
The Texoma region consists of eight counties, five of which are in Oklahoma and three of which are in Texas.
Some of the counties are included in Texoma's one metropolitan area and three micropolitan areas. In each case, the metro- or micropolitan area corresponds to a single county.
Grayson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,543. The county seat is Sherman. The county was founded in 1846 and is named after Peter Wagener Grayson, an attorney general of the Republic of Texas. Grayson County is included in the Sherman-Denison metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, combined statistical area. Located on the state's border with Oklahoma, it is part of the Texoma region, with proximity to Lake Texoma and the Red River.
Bryan County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,067. Its county seat is Durant. It is the only county in the United States named for Democratic politician William Jennings Bryan.
Durant is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Poteau. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 46,067 in 2020. Durant is also part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Combined Statistical Area, anchoring the northern edge.
Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 24,725 at the time of the 2020 census, a 1.8% increase over the 2010 census figure of 24,283. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 48,491 in 2013. Ardmore is 90 miles (140 km) from both Oklahoma City and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 70, and is generally considered the hub of the 13-county region of South Central Oklahoma, also known by state tourism pamphlets as "Chickasaw Country" and previously "Lake and Trail Country". It is also a part of the Texoma region. Ardmore is situated about 9 miles (14 km) south of the Arbuckle Mountains and is located at the eastern margin of the Healdton Basin, one of the most oil-rich regions of the United States.
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 census, up from 22,682 at the 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one of two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area. Denison is the birthplace of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and is the largest city in the Texoma region of North Texas and southern Oklahoma.
North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, west of Paris, and north of Hillsboro. Definitions of the region usually don't include the sparsely populated Panhandle of Texas, which is the northernmost region of Texas bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east.
Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th-largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklahoma, and Grayson County, Texas, about 726 miles (1,168 km) upstream from the mouth of the river. It is located at the confluence of the Red and Washita Rivers. The project was completed in 1944. The damsite is about 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Denison, Texas, and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Durant, Oklahoma. Lake Texoma is the most developed and most popular lake within the USACE Tulsa District, attracting around 6 million visitors a year. Oklahoma has more of the lake within its boundaries than Texas.
KXII is a television station licensed to Sherman, Texas, United States, serving the Sherman, Texas–Ada, Oklahoma market as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and Fox. Owned by Gray Television alongside Telemundo affiliate KAQI-LD, the two stations share studios on Texoma Parkway in northeastern Sherman, with an additional studio on South Commerce Street and Elks Boulevard in southwestern Ardmore, Oklahoma. KXII's transmitter is located along US 377 in rural northeastern Marshall County, Oklahoma.
KTEN is a television station licensed to Ada, Oklahoma, United States, serving the Sherman, Texas–Ada, Oklahoma market as an affiliate of NBC, The CW Plus, and ABC. The station is owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, and maintains primary studios on High Point Circle in northwestern Denison, Texas, with secondary studios at the Ardmore Energy Center on Merrick Drive in northwestern Ardmore. Its transmitter is located along State Highway 7 in rural northeastern Johnston County, Oklahoma.
The Herald Democrat is a daily newspaper located in the twin cities of Sherman and Denison, Texas, in the United States. The Herald Democrat serves all of Grayson and Fannin County, Texas; parts of Collin, Cooke, Denton, Delta, Lamar and Hunt County, Texas; and part of Bryan County, Oklahoma.
South Central Oklahoma is an amorphous region in the state of Oklahoma, perhaps encompassing 10 counties. It is centered on the Arbuckle Mountains, an ancient, eroded range traversing some 70 miles (110 km) across the region, and surrounded by rivers and lakes, notably Lake Texoma, Lake Murray and Lake of the Arbuckles. For tourism purposes, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism has more narrowly defined South Central Oklahoma, which they refer to as Chickasaw Country, as being a seven-county region including Pontotoc, Johnston, Marshall, Garvin, Murray, Carter, and Love counties. A ten-county definition might also include Coal, Atoka, and Bryan counties, although the Department of Tourism includes those in Choctaw Country. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma covers the eastern third of the region. Its headquarters is in Durant, and its capitol building, now a museum, is in Tuskahoma. The Chickasaw Nation lies within the region, with the tribal capitol building located at Tishomingo and its headquarters in Ada. The Chickasaw Nation, which runs "Chickasawcountry.com"., promotes the idea of Chickasaw Country as the 13 south-central Oklahoma counties that comprise the Chickasaw Nation, being the Tourism Department’s seven counties plus Coal, Bryan, Jefferson, Stephens, Grady, and McClain counties.
The Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county—Grayson—in North Texas, anchored by the cities of Sherman and Denison. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the MSA had a population of 120,877; according to 2021 estimates, it had a population of 139,336. The Sherman–Denison MSA is a component of the Dallas-Ft. Worth combined statistical area, which covers a 19-county area and had an estimated population of 8,057,796 as of July 1, 2009. It is also a major part of the Texoma region with proximity to both Lake Texoma and the Red River.
U.S. Route 70 is a transcontinental U.S. highway extending from Globe, Arizona to Atlantic, North Carolina. Along the way, 289.81 miles (466.40 km) of its route passes through the state of Oklahoma. Entering the state south of Davidson, the highway serves Oklahoma's southern tier before exiting the state east of Broken Bow. It serves the cities of Ardmore, Durant, Hugo, and Idabel, as well as Tillman, Cotton, Jefferson, Carter, Marshall, Bryan, Choctaw, and McCurtain counties.
The Texas–Oklahoma League was a Minor League Baseball Class-D circuit that operated between 1911 and 1922. The league formed twice, the first began in 1911 and finished in 1914, while the second was active in 1921 and 1922. League franchises were based in Oklahoma and Texas.
The Hugo Scouts were a minor league baseball team based in Hugo, Oklahoma. In 1913 and 1914, Hugo teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Texas-Oklahoma League, hosting home games at Ansley Park. Hugo played the 1913 season as the "Hugoites."
The Gainesville Blue Ribbons were a minor league baseball team based in Gainesville, Texas. In 1911, the Blue Ribbons played briefly as members of the Class D level Texas-Oklahoma League, before the team folded during the season. Gainesville hosted home minor league games at Fair Grounds Park. The Blue Ribbons preceded the Gainesville Owls, who began play as members of the Big State League in 1947.
The Durant Choctaws was the primary nickname of the minor league baseball teams based in Durant, Oklahoma, who played as members of the Class D level Texas–Oklahoma League from 1911 to 1914. The Durant Educators (1911), Durant Choctaws (1912–1913) and Durant Gladiators (1914) teams played exclusively in the Texas-Oklahoma League, hosting home minor league games at the Durant Base Ball Park. After placing second in their first season of play, Durant finished last during the next three seasons, before the league folded following the 1914 season, during World War I.
The St. Louis, San Francisco and New Orleans Railroad ran from Hope, Arkansas to a point near Ardmore, Oklahoma, and encompassed about 219 miles of track including a branch line. It existed from 1895 to 1907, when its assets were taken over by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (“Frisco”).