BlockBefore

Castle, Oklahoma

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Okemah census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74833. The Survey maps it on the Boley quadrangle. 169 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 971 feet above sea level.

Castle within Okfuskee County

Population over time

3 figures

Castle grew from 122 to 169 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000122
2010106-16 (-13%)
2020169+63 (+59%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

94 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 94 fires within 5 miles of Castle between 1997 and 2020, burning about 11,496 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 24 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
Debris and open burning33
Missing data/not specified/undetermined28
Arson/incendiarism24
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking1
Recreation and ceremony1
Other causes1
Natural1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 September 2016Debris and open burning1.2 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeHICKS
7 August 2008Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreOkmulgee Field OfficeSUGAR WATER
26 August 2010Equipment and vehicle use1.7 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeWATER TOWER
14 August 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreOkmulgee Field OfficeJULIAN
6 July 2012Debris and open burning6.0 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeHILLIE
9 April 1997Smoking65 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeRAY01
7 April 2009Debris and open burning73 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeFLAT TIRE
7 April 2009Debris and open burning160 acresOkmulgee Field OfficeIXL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Okfuskee County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 22 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 22 workings within 5 miles of Castle: 20 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unknown Sandstone PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Unknown Shale PitClayPast Producer
Cromwell Dredge and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Perryman Sand Co PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Okfuskee County

Storms near this place

31 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Castle in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2019: 16 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 1999Tornado (F1)Castle$80,000An F1 tornado touched down about 3 miles north of Castle, travelling approximately 3.5 miles southeast before lifting about 2 miles east of Castle. Along the way, this storm completely ripped the roof from one permanent wood-frame house about 2 miles northeast of Castle, and it blew the roof off of a mobile home located on OK Hwy 48 north of Castle near I.X.L. Another residence immediately to the south sustained minor damage when a tree fell on the corner of the house. The house's owner said that she witnessed a white funnel about 100 yards to the northeast. Several barns were completely destroyed, leaving only hay bales that were once covered by the barns.
May 2019Tornado (EF1)Castle$25,000This tornado destroyed outbuildings and snapped large tree limbs. It was observed by several people. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 85 to 95 mph.
May 2015HailCastle$25,000no account filed
April 2013HailCastle$10,000no account filed
September 1999Thunderstorm WindCastle$6,000There were several reports of damaging and severe thunderstorm winds from Castle, east-southeast through Okemah, to Weleetka. Starting in Castle, many trees were damaged, including a 125-foot tall cottonwood tree that was uprooted. Down the road in Okemah, numerous trees, tree limbs and several power lines were blown down. Three miles east of Okemah, an Oklahoma mesonet site measured a wind gust to 80 miles an hour at 715 PM CDT. In Weleetka, large trees were blown down.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindCastle$5,000Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew some shingles off of three homes. The wind also took the porch roof off of one of the homes.
June 2018HailCastle$5,000no account filed
October 2016Thunderstorm WindCastle$2,000Strong thunderstorm wind damaged a greenhouse and snapped large tree limbs.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindCastle$1,000Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines.
May 2019Tornado (EFU)Castle-A brief tornado was observed by trained storm spotters. There is no known damage from this tornado, as the area in which this tornado occurred was inaccessible by road.
May 2019Tornado (EFU)Castle-Storm chasers observed a tornado south through southeast of Castle. No known damage occurred from this tornado.
May 2015Flash FloodCastle-Several roads in and around town were flooded and closed.
April 2013Thunderstorm WindCastle-A storm spotter measured 59 mph wind gusts.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Castle-KOCO storm chasers witnessed this brief tornado. The tornado resulted in no known damage.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindCastle-Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs.
March 2017HailCastle-no account filed
May 2010HailCastle-no account filed
April 2008HailCastle-no account filed
April 2005HailCastle-no account filed
March 2000HailCastle-no account filed
March 2000HailCastle-no account filed
May 1999HailCastle-no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindCastle-no account filed
June 1998HailCastle-no account filed
June 1998HailCastle-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindCastle-no account filed
April 1996HailCastle-no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindCastle-no account filed
February 1995HailCastle-no account filed
February 1995HailCastle-no account filed
February 1995HailCastle-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Okfuskee County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
IXL3.3 miles11
Okemah5.0 miles13
Boley5.5 miles13
Mason6.5 miles11
Morse6.8 miles11
Chilesville7.3 miles11
Last Chance7.6 miles11
Bearden8.7 miles12

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 CastleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3287085The 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 1091018. 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.