This article is about a town. For the adjacent military installation, see
Fort Gibson.
Fort Gibson is a town in Cherokee and Muskogee counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 4,054 at the 2000 census. It is the location of Fort Gibson National Cemetery and is located roughly at the end of the Cherokees' Trail of Tears at Tahlequah. It is the oldest town in Oklahoma, it was established in 1824. Fort Gibson was founded by Colonel Matthew Arbuckle. A replica of the original fort still stands at the original historic site.
Geography
Fort Gibson is located at 35°47′41″N 95°15′11″W / 35.79472°N 95.25306°W / 35.79472; -95.25306 (35.794861, -95.253090)[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.3 km² (14.0 mi²). 34.8 km² (13.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (4.14%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 4,054 people, 1,467 households, and 1,113 families residing in the town. The population density was 116.5/km² (301.8/mi²). There were 1,563 housing units at an average density of 44.9/km² (116.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 68.75% White, 2.00% African American, 19.76% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 2.54% from other races, and 6.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.88% of the population.
There were 1,467 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the town the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $30,975, and the median income for a family was $36,944. Males had a median income of $30,362 versus $21,525 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,042. About 14.2% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.
Government Representation
Federal: Senator Tom Coburn, Senator Jim Inhofe, Representative Dan Boren
Notable Residents
The jazz singer Lee Wiley, and MLB player Junior Kennedy, were born in Fort Gibson. NFL player Teddy Lehman also hails from Fort Gibson. And the author Cecilia Back is also a resident of Fort Gibson.
Fort Gibson School Shooting
On December 6, 1999 Seth Trickey, age 13 armed himself with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire of 15 rounds at Fort Gibson Middle School, injuring four classmates.
See also
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
