Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

Roger Mills County
Roger Mills County
County
	Washita Battlefield National Historic Site
	Location within the U.S. state of Oklahoma
	Oklahoma's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°41′N 99°42′W / 35.69°N 99.7°W
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Founded	1891
Named for	Roger Q. Mills
Seat	Cheyenne
Largest town	Cheyenne
Area
• Total	1,146 sq mi (2,970 km2)
• Land	1,141 sq mi (2,960 km2)
• Water	5.3 sq mi (14 km2) 0.40%
Population (2020)
• Total	3,442
• Density	3.0/sq mi (1.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.rogermills.org

Roger Mills County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,442,^[1] making it the fourth-least populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is Cheyenne.^[2] The county was created in 1891.^[3]

Roger Mills county is located above the petroleum-rich Panhandle-Hugoton Field, making it one of the leading sources of oil, natural gas and helium. The county also overlies part of the Ogallala Aquifer.^[4]

History

Roger Mills County takes its name from Roger Q. Mills, an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and later senator from Texas.^[4]^[5] The town of Cheyenne in Roger Mills County is the location of the Battle of Washita River (also called Battle of the Washita; Washita Battlefield and the Washita Massacre), where George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Chief Black Kettle’s Cheyenne village on the Washita River on November 26, 1868.^[6]

The area covered by Roger Mills County had been part of the Cheyenne Arapaho reservation until after Oklahoma Territory was created and County E was formed. County E was renamed Day County. Day County was abolished and Roger Mills County was created at statehood on November 16, 1907. The county's western boundary with Texas was moved eastward 3,800 feet (1,200 m) when the Supreme Court ruled that the 100th Meridian was farther east than originally supposed.^[4]

During the 1970s Roger Mills County and the surrounding area was the site of natural gas and oil development in the Panhandle-Hugoton Gas Field, the largest-volume gas field in the United States, and the world's largest known source of helium. Between 1973 and 1993 the field produced over 8-trillion cubic feet (230,000,000 m³) of gas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,146 square miles (2,970 km²), of which 1,141 square miles (2,960 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[7] The Canadian River forms the northern border of the county.^[4] The Washita River passes by Cheyenne and Strong City as it crosses the county from west to east. The historically significant Antelope Hills lie in the northeastern part of the county.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Ellis County (north)
Dewey County (northeast)
Custer County (east)
Beckham County (south)
Wheeler County, Texas (southwest)
Hemphill County, Texas (northwest)

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	6,190	—
1910	12,861	107.8%
1920	10,638	−17.3%
1930	14,744	38.6%
1940	10,736	−27.2%
1950	7,395	−31.1%
1960	5,090	−31.2%
1970	4,452	−12.5%
1980	4,799	7.8%
1990	4,147	−13.6%
2000	3,436	−17.1%
2010	3,647	6.1%
2020	3,442	−5.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010^[12]

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 3,436 people, 1,428 households, and 988 families residing in the county. The population density was 1/km² (2.6/sq mi). There were 1,749 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (2.6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.76% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 5.47% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.52% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 2.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,428 households, out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 18.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,921. Males had a median income of $22,224 versus $19,821 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,821. About 11.50% of families and 16.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The county economy has depended on agriculture, which has benefitted from the fact that it lies above the Ogallala Aquifer. Principal crops have included Kaffir corn, broomcorn, wheat, cotton, corn, and alfalfa. Farms have been consolidating throughout the period since the Great Depression. In 1930, there were 2,353 farms, averaging 278.3 acres each. By 2000, there were 680 farms, averaging 1,015.54 acres each.^[4]

Petroleum and natural gas production has become an important contributor since discovery of the Panhandle-Hugoton Field.^[4]

In 2010, Roger Mills County had a per capita income of 28,427 dollars per resident compared to the United States per capita income of 27,334 dollars. The county had the highest per capita income of any in Oklahoma and was the only Oklahoma county in which the per capita income exceeded the national per capita income.^[14]^[15]

Politics

Roger Mills County is heavily Republican, like most of rural western Oklahoma. It has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1980, and in all but three elections since 1952.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of June 30, 2023^[16]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	564	24.32%
	Republican	1,549	66.80%
	Others	206	8.88%
Total		2,319	100%

United States presidential election results for Roger Mills County, Oklahoma^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,548	89.32%	160	9.23%	25	1.44%
2020	1,629	88.82%	168	9.16%	37	2.02%
2016	1,547	87.95%	151	8.58%	61	3.47%
2012	1,402	83.75%	272	16.25%	0	0.00%
2008	1,502	83.96%	287	16.04%	0	0.00%
2004	1,388	78.42%	382	21.58%	0	0.00%
2000	1,234	73.15%	441	26.14%	12	0.71%
1996	959	49.61%	733	37.92%	241	12.47%
1992	890	40.96%	767	35.30%	516	23.75%
1988	1,132	56.26%	866	43.04%	14	0.70%
1984	1,550	69.10%	680	30.32%	13	0.58%
1980	1,221	56.24%	877	40.40%	73	3.36%
1976	873	38.92%	1,346	60.01%	24	1.07%
1972	1,696	78.16%	420	19.35%	54	2.49%
1968	1,102	45.31%	720	29.61%	610	25.08%
1964	926	40.77%	1,345	59.23%	0	0.00%
1960	1,463	64.39%	809	35.61%	0	0.00%
1956	1,072	43.95%	1,367	56.05%	0	0.00%
1952	1,667	52.99%	1,479	47.01%	0	0.00%
1948	509	18.96%	2,176	81.04%	0	0.00%
1944	1,148	36.15%	2,015	63.44%	13	0.41%
1940	1,504	36.63%	2,580	62.83%	22	0.54%
1936	989	22.33%	3,383	76.38%	57	1.29%
1932	511	12.29%	3,648	87.71%	0	0.00%
1928	1,948	63.51%	986	32.15%	133	4.34%
1924	946	33.99%	1,318	47.36%	519	18.65%
1920	1,193	46.75%	931	36.48%	428	16.77%
1916	538	23.79%	1,148	50.77%	575	25.43%
1912	716	32.80%	902	41.32%	565	25.88%