Carter County, Oklahoma

Carter County, Oklahoma
Carter County Courthouse in Ardmore
Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma's location in the U.S.
Founded	1907
Seat	Ardmore
Largest city	Ardmore
Area
• Total	834 sq mi (2,160 km2)
• Land	822 sq mi (2,129 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (31 km2), 1.4%
Population (est.)
• (2013)	48,491
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	cartercountyok.us

Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,557. Its county seat is Ardmore. The county was named for Captain Ben W. Carter, a Cherokee who lived among the Chickasaw.

Carter County is part of the Ardmore, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also a part of the Texoma region.

Prior to statehood, the present Carter County, Oklahoma, was part of Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation of Indian Territory. After the Civil War, the government of the United States forced the Chickasaw government to allow railroads built across its territory. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway (controlled by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, AT&SF) built a line north from Texas to Purcell.

In 1901-1903 the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway (acquired by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway in 1907) built a line from Arkansas to Ardmore. Oil production spurred further railroad development. In 1913-14, the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railway constructed a line from Ardmore west to Ringling. In 1916, the Ringling and Oil Fields Railway laid tracks north from Ringling Junction to Healdton. These last two rail lines were abandoned in 1976.

Oil and gas production began very early in the 20th Century. The Healdton field opened in 1913, and led to the development of Ardmore as a major oil production center. However, a disastrous fire occurred in Ardmore in 1915, when a railroad car exploded, killing 43 people and destroying much of the downtown. Ardmore and the local oil industry recovered, and the city also became a manufacturing center. Akron Tire and Rubber Company built and operated a plant in Ardmore as early as 1915. In 1970, Uniroyal built a tire plant there. It was acquires by Michelin North America in 1990. By the start of the 21st Century, manufacturing was the largest component of the county economy.