Ada

Ada, Oklahoma
—  City  —
Pontotoc County Courthouse in Ada
Location in the state of Oklahoma
Coordinates: 34°45′49″N 96°40′6″W / 34.76361°N 96.66833°W / 34.76361; -96.66833Coordinates: 34°45′49″N 96°40′6″W / 34.76361°N 96.66833°W / 34.76361; -96.66833
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Pontotoc
Post Office	1891
Government
• Type	City Council
• Mayor	Barbara Young
Area
• Total	15.8 sq mi (40.8 km2)
• Land	15.7 sq mi (40.7 km2)
• Water	.1 sq mi (.2 km2)  0%
Elevation	1,010 ft (308 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	16,810
• Density	1,077.2/sq mi (417.1/km2)
• Demonym	Adan
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	74820-74821
Area code(s)	580
FIPS code	40-00200[1]
GNIS feature ID	1089523[2]
Website	City of Ada

Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.^[3] The population was 16,810 at the 2010 census.

Ada is an Oklahoma Main Street City, an Oklahoma Certified City, a Tree City USA member, and a National Weather Service StormReady Community.^[4]

The city was named after the daughter of an early settler^[5] and was incorporated in 1901.^[4] Ada is home to East Central University.

History

In the late 1880s, the Daggs family (by way of Texas) became the first family to settle what is now known as Ada, which was originally known as Daggs Prairie. In April 1889, Jeff Reed (a native Texan, and relative of the Daggs family) was appointed to carry the mail from Stonewall to Center (which was later combined with Pickett), two small communities in the Indian Territory. With his family and his stock, he sought a place for a home on a prairie midway between the two points, where he constructed a log house and started Reed's Store. Other settlers soon built homes nearby. In 1891, a post office was established and named after Reed's oldest daughter, Ada.^[5] Ada was incorporated as a city in 1901^[4] and grew rapidly with the arrival of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway line.^[6]

On April 19, 1909, an organized mob hanged four men set to be tried for the murder of a former U.S. marshal and member of the local freemason lodge.^[7] The town had a population of about 5,000 at the time, and 38 murders a year at the time of the lynching.^[7] The Daily Ardmoreite reported that the four lynched men were "one of the bloodiest band of murderers in the state of Oklahoma and an organization of professional assassins, that for a record of blood crimes, probably has no equal in the annals of criminal history in the entire southwest."^[8]

National Register of Historic Places

The following sites in Ada are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:^[9]

• Ada Public Library
• Bebee Field Round House
• East Central State Normal School
• Mijo Camp Industrial District
• Pontotoc County Courthouse
• Sugg Clinic
• Wintersmith Park Historic District

Geography

Ada is located in the rolling hills of southeastern Oklahoma; its geographic coordinates are 34°45′49″N 96°40′6″W / 34.76361°N 96.66833°W / 34.76361; -96.66833 (34.763661, -96.668214)^[10]. Ada is 88 miles (142 km) from Oklahoma City, 122 miles (196 km) from Tulsa, and 133 miles (214 km) from Dallas, Texas.^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.8 square miles (40.9 km²), of which 15.7 square miles (40.7 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) (0.44%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

Picture taken on Broadway of the former Stout family residence with one of the city's water towers behind it.

As of the 2006 census,^[1] Ada's 16,008 residents consisted of 6,697 households and 3,803 families. The population density was 999.3 people per square mile (385.9/km²). The 7,472 housing units were dispersed at an average density of 475.9 per square mile (183.8/km²). Ada's 2006 racial makeup was 73.81% White, 3.54% African American, 15.10% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from other races, and 5.81% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.89% of the population.

Of Ada's 6,697 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. The 15.8% of those 65 years or older living alone made up a substantial portion of the 37.1% single-person households. Average household size was 2.20 persons; average family size was 2.91.

The age breakdown in 2006 was 22.3% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% aged 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. The disparity between the number of males and the number of females seems to be decreasing: for every 100 females aged 18 or over, there were only 84.5 males, but when all females and males were taken into account, there were 100 females for every 88.4 males.

Median household income was $22,977, while median family income was $31,805. Males had a median income of $25,223 versus $17,688 for females. Ada's per capita income was $14,666. Some 14.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.8% of those under 18 and 11.4% of those 65 or over.

Education

ECU's Honor Plaza

Higher education

East Central University, located in Ada, is a public four-year institution that has been in operation since 1909. ECU serves roughly 4,500 students and is perhaps best known internationally for its cartography program, as only a few such programs exist. ECU is also home to an Environmental Health Science Program, one of only 30 programs nationally accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (http://www.ehacoffice.org/).

Primary and secondary

Ada Public Schools has six primary and secondary schools.

• Glenwood Early Childhood Center
• Hayes Grade Center
• Washington Grade Center
• Willard Grade Center
• Ada Junior High School
• Ada High School

Technical school

Pontotoc Technology Center (formerly Pontotoc Area Vo-Tech) is located in Ada.

Debbie Carter and Denice Haraway murders

In 2006, a book by author John Grisham brought Ada into the national spotlight related to the false convictions and imprisonment of two individuals for the murder of Debra Sue "Debbie" Carter and two individuals convicted of the murder of Denice Haraway that the city officials were under pressure to solve. The cases were researched by a New York reporter and were the subject of the book The Dreams of Ada and eventually written about in The Innocent Man, Grisham's first non-fiction book. Accounts from both books suggest major flaws, irregularities, and outright miscarriages of justice including forced and made-up confessions by the police and prosecutors. Prosecutor Bill Peterson has self-published his disagreements with Grisham's version of events.^[12][13][14]

Notable natives and residents

• Nick Blackburn – Minnesota Twins starting pitcher.
• Harry Brecheen - Former Major League Baseball All Star pitcher; graduated from Ada High School; buried at Ada's Rosedale Cemetery.
• Dan Cody – Baltimore Ravens linebacker; born in Ada.^[15]
• Myles Deering - U.S. Army Major General and Adjutant General of Oklahoma under Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry
• Douglas Edwards – First television network anchor.
• Josh Fields - Pittsburgh Pirates infielder; born in Ada.
• Lowell Fulson – Guitarist; moved to Ada in 1938.
• Mark Gastineau – National Football League all-star, ECU graduate.
• Johny Hendricks - UFC fighter.
• Anthony Armstrong Jones – Country music singer.
• David Keirsey - Psychologist, born in Ada.
• M. G. Kelly – Nationally syndicated disc jockey.
• Robert S. Kerr – Former Oklahoma Governor and long-time U.S. Senator; born in Ada.
• Jane Lawton – Delegate, Maryland General Assembly.
• Mike McClure - Red Dirt rock/country singer, songwriter, producer.
• Jet McCoy - Professional cowboy and contestant in The Amazing Race 16 and The Amazing Race 18.
• Louise S. Robbins – Wisconsin Librarian of the Year (2001); named one of Oklahoma's 100 Library Legends; director of the School of Library and Information Studies at University of Wisconsin–Madison; author of two award-winning books. Longtime resident of Ada and first woman city council member and mayor.
• Oral Roberts – Evangelist; born in Ada.
• Blake Shelton – Country music singer with many #1 hits.
• Jeremy Shockey – National Football League tight end for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants; born in Ada.
• Leon Polk Smith – Abstract artist known for his work with geometric painting; graduate of East Central University.
• Ron Stone - Newsman.
• Jerry Walker - Former Major League Baseball pitcher; currently a vice president and special assistant to the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
• Ron Williamson - Minor league baseball player wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in 1988 in Ada for rape and murder but eventually exonerated. Subject of The Innocent Man by John Grisham.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ada, Oklahoma

• City website
• Ada Jobs Foundation website
• Community website
• Ada photos on Flickr (unofficial)
• Oklahoma Main Street Community program
• http://www.adachamber.com/
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Ada

v t e Municipalities and communities of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States County seat: Ada City Ada Towns Allen‡ Byng Fitzhugh Francis Roff Stonewall Unincorporated communities Ahloso Center Fittstown Frisco Gaar Corner Happyland Harden City Homer Jesse Latta Lula Maxwell Oakman Oil Center Pickett Steedman Union Valley Vanoss Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties