History
Early history
The earliest signs of human settlement in Tillman County are believed to have come from the Clovis culture, a prehistoric culture that appeared in roughly 10,000 BC. Prehistoric settlement was sparse, and the area that is now Tillman County does not appear to have been especially populated. [3] The Comanche people arrived in the area in the 14th to 15th century, although they too did not establish any major settlements in Tillman. [4] While there is a possibility that Spanish and French explorers arrived in the area in the 1600s, no records remain. [5]
In 1819, the United States, which had recently acquired the region as part of the Louisiana Purchase, settled a boundary with the Spanish Empire along the Red River of the South, Tillman County's southern border. The first major expedition to the area came in 1852, when captain Randolph B. Marcy set out to survey the river. Tillman and Southwest Oklahoma remained entirely unsettled and undisturbed throughout the American Civil War, after which negotiations involving the area began. [5]
Founding and later history
The Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 established a reservation in the southwestern part of Indian Territory for the Kiowa, Apache and Comanche tribes. Following the opening of the Western Cattle Trail, which followed the county line between Jackson and Tillman counties, ranchers from Texas began to take note of the rich ranges of Tillman County, leasing much of the land from Native tribes that saw little use for the area themselves. [4] The Jerome Commission started enrolling members of the tribes in 1892, a prerequisite to opening "excess" land for settlement by non-Indians. The first lottery was held on August 6, 1901. It was followed in 1906 by the "Big Pasture" Lottery. [6] At the turn of the century, the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railway was built through the county, further increasing its attractiveness. [5] It was soon followed by the Frisco Railroad, which established a station around which the city of Frederick emerged, [7] and later by the Katy Railroad, around which many of the smaller towns in the county emerged.
The county was founded at the time of Oklahoma statehood in 1907, and was named for Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina. It had previously been part of Comanche County, Oklahoma Territory. Frederick was designated as the county seat at the time of statehood. In 1910 and 1924 portions of Kiowa County were added to the north side of the county. [6] Since then, Tillman County has remained an agricultural county, and has struggled in recent years with the rural depopulation that affects much the rest of the country.
Demographics
Historical population| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|
| 1910 | 18,650 | | — |
|---|
| 1920 | 22,433 | | 20.3% |
|---|
| 1930 | 24,390 | | 8.7% |
|---|
| 1940 | 20,754 | | −14.9% |
|---|
| 1950 | 17,598 | | −15.2% |
|---|
| 1960 | 14,654 | | −16.7% |
|---|
| 1970 | 12,901 | | −12.0% |
|---|
| 1980 | 12,398 | | −3.9% |
|---|
| 1990 | 10,384 | | −16.2% |
|---|
| 2000 | 9,287 | | −10.6% |
|---|
| 2010 | 7,992 | | −13.9% |
|---|
| 2020 | 6,968 | | −12.8% |
|---|
|
As of the 2010 United States census, [14] there were 7,992 people, 3,216 households, and 2,136 families residing in the county. The population density was 3.5/km2 (9.1/sq mi). There were 4,077 housing units at an average density of 1.8/km2 (4.7/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white, 7.7% Black or African American, 3.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, less than 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. Just over 23% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
There were 3,216 households, out of which 31.5% included children under the age of 18, 48.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.6% were non-families. Individuals living alone accounted for 30.3% of households and individuals age 65 years or older living alone accounted for 14%. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.96.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,437, and the median income for a family was $40,616. Males had a median income of $32,885 versus $29,757 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,541. Sixteen percent of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Since statehood, Tillman County's economy has depended mainly on agriculture, including the raising of livestock. The main farm crops are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sorghum and milo (a variety of commercial sorghum). Many farms have consolidated throughout the 20th century, from 1,724 in 1930 to 587 in 2000; however, the average size increased from 188.8 acres (76.4 ha) to 819 acres (331 ha) during the same period. [15]
Cattle ranching became prominent during the 1880s, when prominent Texas ranchers (principally Daniel and William Thomas Waggoner and Samuel Burk Burnett) leased grazing land from the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes. [15]
The U.S. military established Frederick Army Air Field in 1941 to train crews to fly Cessna UC-78 Bobcats and North American B-25 Mitchells. After the war, the former base became a civilian airfield and is now known as Frederick Regional Airport. [15]
Government and politics
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 11, 2025 [17] |
|---|
| Party | Number of Voters | Percentage |
|---|
| Democratic | 1,196 | 28.85% |
| Republican | 2,278 | 54.94% |
| Others | 672 | 16.21% |
| Total | 4,146 | 100% |
|---|
Politics
As a rural Southern county, Tillman County was once fiercely Democratic. Between formation and 1968, it gave massive landslides to Democrats (aside from 1928, when the Democratic nominee suffered from anti-Catholic sentiment). The county voted Republican for the first time in its history in 1972 in a national Republican landslide, although it continued to revert to the Democratic Party consistently aside from Republican landslide elections. At the turn of the 21st century, Tillman County shifted sharply to the right due to the leftward swing of the national Democratic Party, and has since steadily become more Republican, with Democrats failing to break 20% for the first time in history in 2024. While much of Southern Oklahoma was once known for ticket splitting, Tillman County's Republican trend has become so pronounced that there are no longer any Democrats at the state or local level.
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United States
Oklahoma 
