Alva, Oklahoma
| Alva, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 |
|
 Location of Alva within Oklahoma |
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| Coordinates: 36°48′21″N 98°40′04″W / 36.80583°N 98.66778°WCoordinates: 36°48′21″N 98°40′04″W / 36.80583°N 98.66778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Woods |
| Incorporated | 1893 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-manager |
| • Mayor | Mayor Kelly Parker |
| • City manager | Joe Don Dunham |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.389121 sq mi (6.187795 km2) |
| • Land | 2.389121 sq mi (6.187795 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,348 ft (411 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 4,945 |
| • Density | 2,100/sq mi (800/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 73717 |
| Area code(s) | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-01800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1089605 |
| Website | alvaok.org |
Alva is a city in and the county seat of Woods County, Oklahoma, United States, along the Salt Fork Arkansas River. The population was 4,945 at the 2010 census.Northwestern Oklahoma State University is located in Alva.
Alva was established in 1893 as a land office for the Cherokee Outlet land run, the largest of the land rushes that settled western and central Oklahoma. The site was chosen for its location on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and likely named for a railroad attorney, Alva Adams, who had become governor of Colorado.
When the Southern Kansas Railway, began extending its line from Kiowa, Kansas across the Cherokee Outlet in 1886, Alva became the first railroad station southwest of Kiowa. The line was operational in 1887, in time for the opening of the Unassigned Lands.
The Secretary of the Interior chose Alva as the seat of County M when Oklahoma Territory was organized in 1890. A U.S. government land office opened there before a presidential proclamation on August 19, 1893, opened the Cherokee Outlet for general settlement . The actual land run occurred September 16, 1893. By then, Alva's 320 acres (1.3 km2) site had been formally surveyed and platted.
Northwestern Territorial Normal School now Northwestern Oklahoma State University, was established in 1897 in Alva by the Territorial Legislature.
During World War II, Alva was the site of a prisoner of war camp for German POWs. On July 19, 1943, the United States Department of War ordered that Camp Alva would be the place for the internment of the most troublesome German prisoners of war – "Nazi leaders, Gestapo agents, and extremists".
Today, the city council is actively soliciting murals and trying to attract businesses and tourists to keep people in town. Alva lost 200 people between 1990 and 2000 according to official census figures. The Alva Review-Courier is published Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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Wikipedia