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Sayre, OK

Sayre, Oklahoma
City
Buildings in Sayre
Buildings in Sayre
Motto: "Main Street On Historic Route (66)"
Location in Beckham County and the state of Oklahoma.
Location in Beckham County and the state of Oklahoma.
Coordinates: 35°17′56″N 99°38′12″W / 35.29889°N 99.63667°W / 35.29889; -99.63667Coordinates: 35°17′56″N 99°38′12″W / 35.29889°N 99.63667°W / 35.29889; -99.63667
Country United States
State Oklahoma
County Beckham
Government
 • Type Aldermanic
Area
 • Total 5.61 sq mi (14.54 km2)
 • Land 5.59 sq mi (14.48 km2)
 • Water 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation 1,808 ft (551 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 4,375
 • Density 782/sq mi (302.1/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 73662
Area code(s) 580
FIPS code 40-65700
GNIS feature ID 1097858
Website Sayre, Oklahoma

Sayre is a city in and the county seat of Beckham County, in western Oklahoma, United States. It is halfway between Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, Texas, on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 census, the largest recorded by a census since Sayre's founding. It was an increase of 6.3 percent from the 2000 census.

After the Civil War, Congress wanted to stimulate the economy and aid the growth of the nation. One way that they achieved this was to promote the building of the western railroads. Upon completion of the Union Pacific-Central Pacific joining together in 1869 with the Golden Spike, other railroads trying to capitalize on commerce and trade also began crossing the western country. This included the Great Northern and Burlington in the far north, and the Southern Pacific on the extreme southern border.

Eventually this would lead to rails crossing Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, around the start of the 20th century. A new rail line was extended from Weatherford to Texola by McCabe & Steen Contractors in July 1901. Entrepreneurs would buy land near where the new tracks were being laid, and also near a source of water. The Choctaw Town Site and Improvement Company did this, and when the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad crossed the North Fork of the Red River in Western Indian Territory an instant town sprang up, which incorporated on 14 September 1901.


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