Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton City Hall Lawton City Hall Lawton is positioned in Oklahoma Lawton - Lawton Website City of Lawton The town/city of Lawton is the governmental center of county of Comanche County, in the State of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, about 87 mi (140 km) southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal town/city of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the 2010 census, Lawton's populace was 96,867, making it the fifth-largest town/city in the state. Built on former reservation lands of Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Indians, Lawton was established on August 6, 1901, and was titled after Major General Henry Ware Lawton, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient killed in action in the Philippine American War.
Lawton's landscape is typical of the Great Plains, with flat topography and gently rolling hills, while the region north of the town/city is marked by the Wichita Mountains.
The city's adjacency to Fort Sill Military Reservation gave Lawton economic and populace stability throughout the 20th century. Although Lawton's economy is still largely dependent on Fort Sill, it has also grown to encompass manufacturing, higher education, community care, and retail. The city's government is run by a council-manager government consisting of a town/city manager and a town/city council headed by a mayor.
Interstate 44 and three primary United States highways serve the city, while Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport joins Lawton by air.
Main article: History of Lawton, Oklahoma Fort Sill was established in 1869 after the American Civil War by Major General Philip Sheridan, who was dominant a campaign in the Indian Territory to stop raids into Texas by American Indian tribes. In 1874, the Red River War broke out in the region when the Comanche, Kiowa, and Southern Cheyenne left their Indian Territory reservation.
Major-General Henry Ware Lawton Three 320-acre sites in Kiowa, Caddo and Comanche counties were chose for county seats, with Lawton designated as the Comanche County seat.
Lawton, a quartermaster at Fort Sill, who had taken part in the pursuit and capture of Geronimo. The town/city was opened to settlement through an auction of town lots beginning on August 6, 1901, which was instead of 60 days later. By September 25, 1901, the Rock Island Railroad period to Lawton and was soon joined by the Frisco Line. The first town/city elections were held October 24, 1901. The United States' entry into World War I accelerated expansion at Fort Sill and Lawton.
The availability of 5 million US gallons (19,000 m3) of water from Lake Lawtonka, just north of Fort Sill, was a catalyst for the War Department to establish a primary cantonment titled Camp Doniphan, which was active until 1922. Following World War II, Lawton appreciateed steady populace growth, with the populace increasing from 18,055 to 34,757 from 1940 to 1950. By the 1960s, it had reached 61,697. In the postwar period, Lawton underwent tremendous expansion during the late 1940s and 1950s, dominant town/city officials to seek additional water sources to supplement existing water from Lake Lawtonka.
Lake Ellsworth, titled for a former Lawton mayor, soft-drink bottler C.R.
In 1966, the Lawton City Council took in several miles of territory on the city's east, northeast, west, and northwest borders, expanding east beyond the East Cache Creek region and west to 82nd Street. On March 1, 1964, the north section of the H.
Bailey Turnpike was completed, connecting Lawton directly to Oklahoma City, the capital.
On June 23, 1998, the town/city period when Lawton took in neighboring Fort Sill. With the advent of the Base Realignment and Closure of 2005 increasing the size of Fort Sill, Lawton is expected to see continued populace and economic expansion over the course of the next 20 years. Lawton is the fifth biggest city in Oklahoma .located at 34 36 16 N 98 23 45 W (34.604444, 98.395833).
The town/city has a total region of 75.1 sq mi (195 km2), all of it land. Lawton is positioned about 84 mi (135 km) southwest of Oklahoma City.
Lawton lies in an region typical of the Great Plains, with prairie, several trees, and flat topography with gently rolling hills. The region north of the town/city consists of the Wichita Mountains, including Mount Scott and Mount Pinchot, the area's highest peaks. The region consists mostly of Permian Post Oak Conglomerate limestone on the northern sections of the city.
The summers can be extremely hot; Lawton averages 21 days with temperatures 100 F (37.8 C) and above. The winter months are typically mild, though periods of extreme cold can occur.
Lawton averages eight days that fail to rise above freezing. The town/city receives about 31.6 inches (800 mm) of rain and less than 3 in (80 mm) of snow annually. Lawton is positioned squarely in the region known as Tornado Alley and is apt to harsh weather from late April through early June. Most prominently, an F4 tornado in 1957, and an F3 tornado in 1979 hit the southern region of the city. Climate data for Lawton, Oklahoma.
Average snowy days ( 0.1 in) 0.3 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.7 In 2010, the Lawton MSA had a violent crime rate of 771.7 incidents per 100,000 citizens , compared to a rate of 479.5 in Oklahoma as a whole and 403.6 nationwide.
The property crime rate for 2010 was 4,964.6 incidents per 100,000 citizens , compared to an average of 3,415.5 in Oklahoma and 2,941.9 nationally. In 2013, Lawton was ranked the eighth-most dangerous town/city in the United States for women. Lawton is primarily centered on government, manufacturing, and retail trade industries.
Lawton MSA rates fourth in Oklahoma with a gross domestic product of $4.2 billion produced in 2008, with a majority ($2.1 billion) in the government sector. Fort Sill is the biggest employer in Lawton, with over 5,000 full-time employees.
Major employers in the Lawton region also include: Lawton Public Schools, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, City of Lawton, and Cameron University.
Lawton includes two primary industrial parks.
At present, the town/city of Lawton is comprehensive the Downtown Revitalization Project.
Lawton had 35,374 working civilians as of the 2010 Census, and of them, 49.1% were female.
Lawton is home to many annual attractions, including the Prince of Peace Easter passion play held in the Holy City in the Wichita Mountain Refuge each year on Palm Sunday, closing to Easter Eve.
In May, Lawton Arts for All, Inc hosts the Arts for All Festival.
Lawton has three enhance exhibitions.
The Museum of the Great Plains is dedicated to natural history and early settlement of the Great Plains. Outdoor exhibits include a replica of the Red River Trading Post, the initial Blue Beaver schoolhouse, and Elgin Train Depot with a Frisco locomotive. The Fort Sill Museum, positioned on the military base of the same name, includes the old Fort Sill corral and a several reconstructionbuildings, including the old post guardhouse, chapel, and barracks, as well as a several artillery pieces. The old fort is also designated as a National Historic Landmark. The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center, directed by the Comanche Nation Tribe, focuses on exhibits and art relating to the Comanche culture past and present.
Lawton is home to Cameron University, which is a NCAA Division II school in the Lone Star Conference.
Lawton was the former home to the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry.
The Cavalry moved in 2007 from Oklahoma City to Lawton, where they won two Continental Basketball Association championships and a Premier Basketball League championship. In 2011, the Cavalry ceased operations in their second year in the PBL. Lawton is home to 80 parks and recreation areas in varying sizes, including the biggest Elmer Thomas Park. Along with the park system, the town/city is near three primary lakes, Lake Lawtonka, Lake Ellsworth, and Elmer Thomas Lake, where boating, swimming, camping, and fishing are permitted. The Lawton branch of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) offers a wide range of recreational programs to members, and the Lawton Country Club maintains an 18-hole, par 71 golf course. Recreation can also be found in many amateur leagues, including: adult softball, youth baseball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Northwest of the town/city is the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to preserve the natural fauna of southwest Oklahoma.
See also: List of mayors of Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton uses the council-manager model of municipal government.
The city's major authority resides in the City Council, which approves ordinances, resolutions, and contracts.
The town/city is divided into eight wards, with each ward electing a single town/city council representative for a three-year term. The mayor, who is propel every three years, presides and sets the agenda of the City Council, but is primarily ceremonial as a head of government. The administrative day-to-day operation of the town/city is headed by the City Manager, who is appointed by the City Council. As of August 2016, the Mayor of Lawton was Fred L.
Lawton is the governmental center of county of Comanche County, and homes county offices and courts.
At the federal level, Lawton lies in Oklahoma 4th Congressional District, represented by Tom Cole. In the State Senate, Lawton is in District 31 (Don Barrington) and 32 (Randy Bass). In the House, District 62 (John Michael Montgomery ), 63 (Jeff Coody), and 64 (Ann Coody) cover the city. Cameron University is the biggest four-year, state-funded college in southwest Oklahoma, offering more than 50 degree programs in areas of Business, Education, Liberal Arts, and Science and Technology. Founded in 1909, Cameron has an average fall enrollment of 6,000 students with 70 endowed faculty positions. Other universities in Lawton include Comanche Nation College.
Lawton is also served by the Great Plains Technology Center, which is part of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education system.
Lawton Public Schools serves most of the town/city of Lawton.
The precinct operates two prekindergarten centers, 24 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools Eisenhower, Lawton, and Mac - Arthur. In 2008, Lawton Public Schools had an enrollment of about 16,000 students with about 1,000 teachers. Two autonomous districts, Bishop and Flower Mound, serve portions of Lawton.
Secondary students living in these districts attend Lawton Public Schools.
A small portion of far-west Lawton is served by Cache Public Schools. Other schools in Lawton include St.
Mary's has served the greater Lawton region and the Fort Sill improve for over 100 years and offers accredited Catholic education for grades pre-K through eighth grade. Trinity Christian Academy, Lawton Academy of Arts & Science, and Lawton Christian School are three other private schools.
Trinity Christian Academy offers classes from K 3 through the eighth grade. Lawton Academy of Arts & Science, and Lawton Christian has the city's only two private autonomous high schools.
See also: List of newspapers in Oklahoma, List of airways broadcasts in Oklahoma, and List of tv stations in Oklahoma The Lawton Constitution, the only daily journal presented in Lawton, has a circulation of 30,000.
In addition, the Fort Sill newspaper, The Cannoneer, is presented weekly primarily for military personnel, as well as the journal The Cameron Collegian, whose chief audience is Cameron University students. Additionally, Okie Magazine is a monthly periodical that focuses on news and entertainment in the Southwest Oklahoma area. Radio stations in Lawton include, two AM Stations, KXCA 1050 and KKRX 1380, and 15 FM stations, including, NPR partner KCCU 89.3, KFXI 92.1, KZCD 94.1, KMGZ 95.3, KJMZ 97.9, KLAW 101.3, and KVRW 107.3 Lawton Living Magazine is a no-charge luxury periodical presented by With You in Mind Publications.
Lawton Living is distributed throughout Lawton and Duncan with an online version of periodical available through Amazon.
Lawton is positioned in the Wichita Falls and Lawton media market, which encompasses 154,450 homeholds with television, making it the 149th-largest in the country according to Nelson Media Research in 2009 2010. KSWO-TV channel 7, an ABC affiliate, is the only broadcast tv station in the Lawton region that provides small-town news. All other primary stations, including KFDX-TV 3 (NBC), KAUZ-TV channel 6 (CBS), and KJTL-TV channel 18 (FOX) are based in Wichita Falls.
It joins the town/city to Oklahoma City to the northeast and to Wichita Falls, Texas, to the south.
Bailey Turnpike to Wichita Falls to the south and leads to county-wide suburbs of Anadarko and Chickasha, in the order given, to the north, and OK-7, which joins Lawton to Duncan. Lawton Area Transit System (LATS) provides enhance transit for both Lawton and Fort Sill.
By air, Lawton is served by the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport (LAW, KLAW).
Lawton has three primary hospitals in the area.
The largest, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, is a 283-bed nonprofit hospital that employs 250 physicians. Southwestern Medical Center is a 199-bed hospital with a staff of 150 physicians. In addition, the US Public Health Lawton Indian Hospital is positioned in the town/city to furnish community services for the large American Indian population.
Notable musicians from Lawton include nation singers Bryan White, Kelly Willis, and Leon Russell, Sissy Brown, and Grammy impel jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig. Notable authors include Pulitzer Prize-winning author N.
Frontier lawman Heck Thomas, who in 1896 captured the outlaw Bill Doolin, the founder of the Wild Bunch gang, spent his later years as the first propel police chief in Lawton.
Other notable Lawton inhabitants include , WWII Comanche code talker Charles Chibitty, Academy Award-winning actress Joan Crawford, WWII ace Robert S.
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Categories:
Lawton, Oklahoma - Cities in Oklahoma - County seats in Oklahoma - Cities in Comanche County, Oklahoma
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