| Medicine Park, Oklahoma |
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HISTORY Medicine Park, Oklahoma, on the edge of the Wichita Wildlife Refuge with Mt. Scott as a backdrop, began its life in 1908 the year following the return of the bison to Wildlife Refuge by Teddy Roosevelt . Medicine Park, the brainchild of long time Senator from Oklahoma Elmer Thomas , was the first planned resort town in Oklahoma with its centerpiece being Bath and Gondola Lakes with its swimming and fishing. Elmer Thomas built resort cabins, a large swimming pool on Medicine Creek, a skating rink, a dance hall, and other tourist attractions. The eccentric cobblestone cottages are built with a red, round cannonball-sized stone which is a unique natural formation occurring in the Wichita Mountains. In 1926, ownership passed to a group of shareholders who converted the park into a private, members-only retreat. After a public outcry, most of the facilities were returned to public use. PEOPLE OF INTEREST Rex and Ruby "Grandma" Leath owned and operated the Old Plantation for many years making famous the hot rolls and plate size steaks. Edward A. Hilliary Jr. was the first mayor of Medicine Park, he installed the first water and sewer systems in Medicine Park. He also owned many bussinesses in town including Park Propane and Medicine Park Telephone Company. Edna Hennessee developed the Big Rock Mtn Estates. David and Candace McCoy helped jump start the rebirth of Medicine Park through construction and renovation of bussiness and residential houses as well as donations of land and time. GEOGRAPHY Medicine Park is located at (34.733270, -98.483923). According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 4.5 Km&2 (1.7 Mi&2 ). 4.4 km&2 (1.7 mi&2) of it is land and 0.1 km&2 (0.1 mi&2) of it (2.89%) is water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 373 people, 163 households, and 112 families residing in the town. The Population Density was 85.7/km&2 (222.1/mi&2). There were 250 housing units at an average density of 57.5/km&2 (148.9/mi&2). The racial makeup of the town was 83.11% White , 1.34% African American , 6.43% Native American , 0.54% Pacific Islander , 2.68% from Other Races , and 5.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.70% of the population. There were 163 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were Married Couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.73. In the town the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,607, and the median income for a family was $33,929. Males had a median income of $22,321 versus $18,854 for females. The Per Capita Income for the town was $13,236. About 19.6% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the Poverty Line , including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over. Medicine Park Telephone Company provides Medicine Park and the surrounding area with telephone service and DSL. Medicine Park Telephone Company is also in the process of a FTTH(fiber-to-the-home)project in Granite Ridge. Medicine Park will be one of the few communities in Oklahoma that has FTTH. |
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