Enid

Enid (EE-nid) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. In 1991, the Oklahoma state legislature designated Enid the "purple martin capital of Oklahoma" Enid holds the nickname of "Queen Wheat City" and "Wheat Capital" of Oklahoma and the United States. It has the third-largest grain storage capacity in the world. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run in the 1893, and is named after Enid, a character in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. The town's early history was captured in Cherokee Strip: A Tale of an Oklahoma Boyhood by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marquis James, who recounts his boyhood in Enid. The Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War ensued when the Department of the Interior moved the government site 3 mi (5 km) south of the station prior to the land run. By the afternoon of the run, Enid's population was estimated at 12,000 people located in its 80-acre (320,000 m2) town plat. In conjunction with the discovery of oil in the region in the 1910s and continuing until World War II, the economy boomed as a result of the growing oil, wheat, and rail industries, and its population grew steadily throughout the early 20th century in conjunction with a period of substantial architectural development and land expansion.

History

Enid is the primary city name, but also North Enid are acceptable city names or spellings. Enid was the location of a land office which is now preserved in its Humphrey Heritage Village, part of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. It was platted by the surveyor W. D. Twichell, then of Amarillo, Texas. Enid experienced a "golden age" following the discovery of oil in the region in the 1910s and continuing until World War II. The town's economy boomed as a result of the growing oil, wheat, and rail industries, and its population grew steadily throughout the early 20th century. In conjunction with the oil boom, oilmen such as T. T. Eason, H. H. Champlin, and Charles E. Knox built homes in the area. In the days following the land run, some enterprising settlers decided to set up a chuckwagon and cook for their fellow pioneers, hanging a sign that read "DINE". Some other, more free-spirited settlers, turned that sign backward to read, of course, "ENID". The name stuck. In 1893 Enid's original plat in 1893 was 6 blocks wide by 11 blocks long consisting of the town square on the northwest end, West Hill (Jefferson) school on the southwest end, Government Springs Park in the middle southern section, and East Hill (Garfield) school. A year later, the population was estimated at 4,410, growing to 10,087 by 1907, the year of Oklahoma statehood. By the afternoon of the run, Enid’s population is estimated at 12,000 people.

Geography

Enid is located at 36°242N 97°5251W (36.400583, -97.880784), 70 miles (110 km) north of Oklahoma City. The greatest one-day precipitation total by an official rain gauge in Oklahoma was in Enid when 15.68 inches (398.3 mm) fell on October 11, 1973. On average, the warmest month is July, January is the coolest month, and the maximum average precipitation occurs in June. The city has a total area of 74.1 square miles (192 km²), of which 74.0 sq miles (192 km²) is land and 0.1 sq mi (0.26 km²%) is water. Enid's weather conditions are characterized by hot summers, cold, often snowy winters, and thunderstorms in the spring, which can produce tornadoes. An ice storm struck Northwest Oklahoma in late January 2002, initially leaving some 255,000 residences and businesses without power. An EF-2 tornado damaged the Chisholm Trail Expo Center on April 25, 2009, but no one was injured or killed. The highest recorded temperature was 118 °F (47.8 °C) in 1936. The lowest recorded temperature in the city was 20°F (28.9 °C), in 1905. The maximum average temperature is 37.8°C in the summer, and it can reach as high as 100 °F or 37.7 °C in winter.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, 49,379 people, 19,726 households and 12,590 families resided in the city. The population of Hispanic or Latino Americans more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, up from 4.74% in 2000 to 10.3% in 2010. Of the people in Enid, 61.9% claim affiliation with a religious congregation; 9.4% are Catholic, 39.2% are Protestant, 1.1% are Latter Day Saints and 12. 2% are another Christian denomination. Enid is home to several Protestant churches including pentacostal Iglesia Cristiana El Shaddai (Hispanic) founded in 2001, four Lutheran congregations, Immanuel, Trinity, and St. Paul, founded in 1909. It also has two Catholic congregations, St. Francis Xavier's Bishop Theophile Meerschaert was responsible for founding Calvary Catholic Cemetery in 1898. The Enid Cemetery also has a Jewish section where many of early Enid's Jewish merchants are interred, including the founders of Kaufman's Style Shop, Herzberg's Department Store, Newman Mercantile, and Meibergen and Godschalk. The city is the home of two Masonic Lodges, the Enid Lodge #80 and the Garfield Lodge #501. In 2014 Enid was the city with the fourth largest Marshallese population in the United States. A push factor from the Marshall Islands were nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. The Compact of Free Association allowed Marshallese to begin moving to Enid circa 1987.

Economy

Enid's economy saw oil booms and agricultural growth in the first half of the 20th century. The Great Depression caused both of these staples to lose value, and many businesses in Enid closed. Enid recovered, prospering and growing in population until a second wave of bad economic times hit in the 1980s. Since 1994, Enid's Main Street program has worked to refurbish historic buildings, boost the local economy, and initiate local events such as first Friday concerts and holiday celebrations on the town square. The Koch Industries plant produces 10 percent of the anhydrous ammonia in the United States, a primary ingredient in fertilizer. The city of Enid received $205 million in funding from the state of Oklahoma on December 15, 2020 as part of its water pipeline project, the citys most expensive project ever. In 2020 the city began a multi-million dollar project to lay 70 miles of pipeline to transport 10 million gallons of water a day from Kaw Lake to a booster pump station. The pipeline is expected to provide a water to the city ofEnid for the next 4050 years. In 1984, after a series of different owners, American Petrofina closed the operation, which is one of many Enid sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The company was founded in 1916 by H.H. Champlin and grew to operate service stations in 20 different states by 1944. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced their approval of a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment for the Enid and Garver Water Supply Program.

Arts and culture

Enid is home to the Tri-State Music Festival which was started in 1932. Enid's Gaslight Theatre hosts a production of Shakespeare in the Park. The Enid Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1905 and is the oldest symphony in the state. The Leona Mitchell Southern Heights Heritage Center and Museum records the history and culture of African Americans and Native Americans. The Midgley Museum is operated by the Enid Masonic Lodge #80 and features the rock collection of the midgley family. George's Antique Auto Museum features the sole existing Geronimo car, once manufactured in Enid. The Simpson's Old Time Museum is a Western-themed museum by local filmmakers Rick and Larry Simpson. The pair closed their downtown business, Simpsons Mercantile, in 2006 to convert the building into a movie set and museum. The town has 26 of the 32 sites on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Garfield County, Oklahoma. It also hosts the Cherokee Strip Days and Parade each September by hosting the land run history each September. In the summer, Enid hosts five nights of educational performances by scholars portraying prominent historical figures. The Chautauqua program was brought to Enid in 1907 and is now produced by the Greater Enid Arts and Humanities Council. It features exhibits on the city's former black schools (George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington), and opera star LeonaMitchell. The city also hosts an outdoor science-themed playground, Adventure Quest.

Parks and recreation

Government Springs Park was Enid's first park. It is built around a lake and includes the Dillingham Gardens, picnic pavilions, playground equipment, a performing arts pavilion, and more. South Government Springs Park contains a sports complex with football fields complete with lights. The City of Enid maintains 25 additional parks or facilities including two splash pads, a pool, a bike park and a bird sanctuary. The Great Salt Plains State Park is to the northwest. Canton Lake is the southwest. Sooner Lake is to the east. Carl Blackwell Lake is to the southeast. The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge is to the southeast and to the northerly side of the city. The Great Salt Plains State Park, Great Salt Plains Lake, and the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge are to the north and the east. The city maintains 25 other parks or facilities including two splash pads and a pool. The parks are located in the city's downtown area, along with a number of nearby lakes and rivers. The park system was established in the early 1900s. It was originally a watering hole on the Old Chisholm Cattle Trail, and was known as North Government Springs Park. The current name of the park is North Government Springs Park. It has been used since the early 1950s and is now known as Government Springs Sprinkles Park.

Sports

Enid has produced several athletes, including NFL football players Todd Franz, Steve Fuller, Ken Mendenhall, John Ward, Jeff Zimmerman, Jim Riley, and the CFL's Kody Bliss. USSF soccer player Andrew Hoxie, Major League Baseball pitchers, Ray Hayward and Lou Kretlow, Olympian and runner, Chris McCubbins, and Stacy Prammanasudh, an LPGA golfer, all were born or lived in Enid. Enid High School Plainsmen have won six state football championships (1919, 1942, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1983) Enid Majors youth baseball team won the American Legion Baseball World Series in 2005. Phillips University baseball teams, coached by Enid native Joe Record, went to the NAIA World Series three times during his tenure as head coach (1952-1981). Enid Enforcers, a semiprofessional/minor-league team playing in the Central Football League. Made up of players from Enid and the surrounding areas, the team has achieved national ranking status three times, amassing a CFL League Championship in 2012, two Northern Division Championships, and 47 league All-star players, while helping numerous young men gain college athletic scholarships and boasting a 40-13 record in just five years. The Oklahoma Storm USBL franchise called Enid home. They won their division more than once and the USBL Championship in 2002. They were Southwest District Champions in 2002 and also received third place in the NJCAA World series in that 2002 and 2018.

Education

Enid has several institutions of education and is served by seven school districts. Northern Oklahoma College serves as Enid's community college, and Northwestern Oklahoma State University provides bachelor and graduate-level education. Enid High School, Chisholm High School and Oklahoma Bible Academy are the city's largest secondary education schools. The Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, established in 1899, also serves as an educational resource for the community. The city was once home to a Carnegie library, which opened in 1910. After years of funding shortages, the building was condemned in 1957, and the library's current modernist building was opened in 1964. Philips University drew Marshallese to Enid in the 1970's. The Cimarron Montessori School and Summerhill Childrens House are theCity's twoMontessori style schools. Enids is home to several private Christian schools representing a variety of denominations, including Bethel Bible Academy, Emmanuel Christian School, Enid Adventist School, Hillsdale Christian School and Saint Joseph Catholic School. It is also home to the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education's only vocational education institution, the Autry Technology Center. It was formerly home to Phillips University, which closed in 1998; its campus is now owned by Northernlahoma College. It also has a branch of the University of Oklahoma, which is located in Oklahoma City. It has a chapter of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Enid, which was founded in 1881. The Enid Public Library was established in 1898.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma = 85. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 60. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Enid = 5.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 51,308 individuals with a median age of 37.7 age the population grows by 0.33% in Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 693.95 residents per square mile of area (267.94/km²). There are average 2.38 people per household in the 19,101 households with an average household income of $41,029 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.00% of the available work force and has dropped -0.71% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 33.58%. The number of physicians in Enid per 100,000 population = 208.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Enid = 30.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 10.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 72. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 233. 95 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 25.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 23, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma which are owned by the occupant = 59.44%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 44 years with median home cost = $55,040 and home appreciation of 1.12%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $6.56 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $3,653 per student. There are 14.8 students for each teacher in the school, 309 students for each Librarian and 326 students for each Counselor. 5.12% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 13.06% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.08% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).