Woodward County, Oklahoma
| Woodward County, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
 Location in the U.S. state of Oklahoma |
|
 Oklahoma's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | 1876 |
| Seat | Woodward |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,246 sq mi (3,227 km2) |
| • Land | 1,242 sq mi (3,217 km2) |
| • Water | 3.7 sq mi (10 km2), 0.3% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2013) | 20,548 |
| • Density | 16/sq mi (6/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | woodwardcounty |
Woodward County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,081. Its county seat is Woodward.
Woodward County comprises the Woodward, OK Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Woodward County was originally known as "N" County and was composed of present-day Woodward County and portions of Harper, Ellis, and Woods County. Before its division at statehood, Woodward County, then 60 miles square, was the westernmost county of the Cherokee Outlet and adjoined Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle on the west and Kansas on the north. Political pressure applied by William H. Murray during Oklahoma's Constitutional Convention resulted in the reduction of the size of Woodward County to its present boundaries. It is unknown exactly whom the county (and the town) is named after, but the two leading candidates are Brinton W. Woodward, a Santa Fe railway director, or Richard Woodward, a buffalo hunter.
In the 19th century, the county was part of a well-used military transportation corridor that was important to frontier defense. In 1868, Camp Supply, was established as a depot leading up to a campaign against the Cheyenne. From 1876 through the 1880s massive herds of cattle passed through the southwestern corner of the county along the Great Western Trail from Texas to Kansas.
The Southern Kansas Railway, later acquired by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a line southwest from Kiowa, Kansas, through the region and into Texas during 1886-1887. It began the town of Woodward where the railroad crossed the military road. The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, controlled by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, constructed a north-south line from Elk City through Sharon, Woodward, and the town of Fort Supply to Forgan, in Beaver County, in 1911-12.
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