Barber, Oklahoma
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the East Cherokee census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74471. It stands on Caney Creek. The Survey maps it on the Tailholt quadrangle. 303 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 896 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1898 USGS Tahlequah quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Tahlequah quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1905 USGS Tahlequah quadrangle1:125000
- 1946 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Tailholt quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Stilwell quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
470 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 470 fires within 5 miles of Barber between 1992 and 2020, burning about 15,811 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 239 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 239 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 108 |
| Debris and open burning | 68 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 9 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 8.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 30547 |
| 9 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 9 September 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 7 September 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 4 September 2000 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 18 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 30 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 3 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Barber: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Shale Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Shale Pits | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Barber in 9 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Barber | $80,000 | This is the first segment of a four-segment tornado. The tornado developed southwest of Tenkiller and moved northeast, crossing into Adair County north of Caney Creek and south of the E 813 Road. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted in its path, and outbuildings were destroyed. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 100 to 110 mph. |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Barber | $50,000 | Several county roads were damaged by flooding in the southern portion of the county. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Barber | $25,000 | Hen egg size hail damaged homes and vehicles. |
| February 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barber | $25,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds uprooted trees, damaged the roof of a home, and destroyed outbuildings. |
| February 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barber | - | Strong thunderstorm winds uprooted trees. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barber | - | Several trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind, west of the Cherokee/Adair county line on Highway 100. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Barber | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew trees down. |
| May 2003 | Hail | Barber | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Barber | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caney Ridge | 0.8 miles | 18 | |
| Dry Creek | 1.4 miles | 17 | |
| Wildcat Point | 2.7 miles | 18 | |
| Tenkiller | 3.0 miles | 18 | |
| Carters Landing | 3.4 miles | 18 | |
| Pettit Bay | 4.0 miles | 18 | |
| Cookson | 4.2 miles | 19 | |
| Etta | 4.8 miles | 18 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Barber | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q108281002 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1100193. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








