Waurika, Oklahoma
| Waurika, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Motto: The Parakeet Capital of the World | |
 |
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| Coordinates: 34°10′12″N 98°0′5″W / 34.17000°N 98.00139°WCoordinates: 34°10′12″N 98°0′5″W / 34.17000°N 98.00139°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| County | Jefferson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.8 sq mi (30.7 km2) |
| • Land | 11.8 sq mi (30.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 896 ft (273 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,064 |
| • Density | 174.9/sq mi (67.5/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 73573 |
| Area code(s) | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-79250 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1099439 |
| Website | www.waurika.us |
Waurika is the county seat of Jefferson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,064 at the 2010 census, a 4.36 percent decrease from 2,158 at the 2000 census.
A newspaper article claimed that Waurika promoted itself as "The Parakeet Capital of the World." It gave no explanation for using this slogan.
The name is the anglicized version of the Comanche compound woarɨhka 'worm eater' from woa 'worm' + tɨhka 'eat' and presumably refers to a group of Comanche living in the area or to some early European settlers whose plowing may have humorously resembled digging for worms. Such humorous names were common in Comanche culture, such as the word for 'rice', woarɨhkapɨh, literally 'worm food'.
Waurika was settled after the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Reservation was opened to non-Indians on August 6, 1901. The first white settler was James McGraw, who homesteaded on the present town site after moving from Burlington, Iowa. The first sale of town lots was held on June 18, 1902. Nearly three thousand people attended the sale.
Waurika was incorporated in May 1903. On May 8 of that year, C. A. McBrian was sworn in as the town's first mayor.
The Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway railroad came to Waurika on January 1902 after the railroad superintendent "designated the town as a flag station." Waurika was formerly the northern terminus for the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad, one of the 20th century properties of Frank Kell and Joseph A. Kemp of Wichita Falls, Texas.
Waurika is located at 34°10′12″N 98°0′5″W / 34.17000°N 98.00139°W (34.170130, -98.001268). It is about 106 miles (171 km) southwest of Oklahoma City.
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Wikipedia