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Chewey, Oklahoma

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Watts census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74964. It stands on Luna Branch. The Survey maps it on the Chewey quadrangle. 548 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 873 feet above sea level.

Chewey within Adair County

Population over time

2 figures

Chewey grew from 135 to 548 between 2010 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
2010135
2020548+413 (+306%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 18 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

415 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 415 fires within 5 miles of Chewey between 1992 and 2020, burning about 15,005 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 143 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/incendiarism143
Missing data/not specified/undetermined128
Debris and open burning99
Equipment and vehicle use16
Natural8
Smoking7
Recreation and ceremony6
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
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
8 September 2004Debris and open burning1.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry30518
7 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry30464
6 September 2003Debris and open burning1.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry30589
5 September 2013Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
4 September 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestry30466
30 September 2016Debris and open burning2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
26 September 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestry30596
24 September 2007Debris and open burningunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestry30498

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Adair County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Chewey: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Adair County

Storms near this place

18 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chewey in 18 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 9 flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 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
April 2026HailChewey$100,000Hail up to two inches in diameter damaged homes and vehicles.
March 2015HailChewey$10,000no account filed
May 2022FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 7:15 pm CDT on May 4th. The river crested at 28.85 feet at 8:30 pm CDT on the 5th, resulting in major flooding. This was the fourth highest crest on record at this site. Disastrous flooding occurred from Fidler's Bend to near Hanging Rock, with numerous roads inundated and permanent campgrounds and cabins overtopped. Monetary damage from this flood was unknown. The river fell below flood stage at 11:15 pm CDT on the 6th.
April 2021FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 5:15 pm CDT on April 28th. The river crested at 22.33 feet 3:45 am CDT on the 29th, resulting in major flooding. The crest was the fifth highest crest ever recorded at this site. Very severe flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bent to near Hanging Rock, with numerous cabins flooded in permanent campgrounds, and portions of Chewey Road were inundated east of Chewey Bridge. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown. The river fell below flood stage at 7:00 am CDT on the 30th.
March 2020FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 6:45 pm CDT on March 19th. The river crested at 20.09 feet at 10:15 am CDT on the 20th, resulting in major flooding. This crest was the sixth highest crest ever recorded at this site. Very severe flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bend to near Hanging Rock, with numerous cabins flooded in permanent campgrounds, and portions of Chewey Road were inundated east of Chewey Bridge. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown. The river fell below flood stage at 11:15 pm CDT on the 20th.
October 2019FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 7:45 pm CDT on October 6th. The river crested at 21.96 feet 5:45 am CDT on the 7th, resulting in major flooding. The crest was the fifth highest crest ever recorded at this site. Very severe flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bent to near Hanging Rock, with numerous cabins flooded in permanent campgrounds, and portions of Chewey Road were inundated east of Chewey Bridge. Monetary damage from this flood is unknown. The river fell below flood stage at 9:30 pm CDT on the 7th.
June 2019FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 4:15 pm CDT on June 23rd. The river crested at 16.56 feet at 1:00 pm CDT on the 24th, resulting in moderate flooding. Farmland, permanent campgrounds, and roads near the river were flooded. The river fell below flood stage at 9:15 pm CDT on the 24th.
February 2018FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 9:15 am CST on February 24th. The river crested at 20.08 feet at 1:15 am CST on the 25th, resulting in major flooding. This crest was the fifth highest crest ever recorded at this site. Very severe flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bend to near Hanging Rock, with numerous cabins flooded in permanent campgrounds, and portions of Chewey Road inundated east of Chewey Bridge. The river fell below flood stage at 7:30 pm CST on the 25th.
May 2017FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 11:45 am CDT on April 29th. The river crested at 31.95 feet at 1:30 pm CDT on the 30th, resulting in major/near record flooding (2nd highest crest on record). Disastrous flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bend to near Hanging Rock, with many permanent campgrounds and cabins overtopped, and roads inundated. Monetary damage estimates were not available. The river remained in flood through the end of April, then fell below flood stage at 3:15 pm CDT on May 1st.
April 2017FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 7:00 am CDT on April 22nd. The river crested at 16.11 feet at 9:15 pm CDT on the 22nd, resulting in moderate flooding. The river fell below flood stage at 5:15 am CDT on the 23rd.
April 2017FloodChewey-The Illinois River near Chewey rose above its flood stage of 12 feet at 11:45 am CDT on April 29th. The river crested at 31.95 feet at 1:30 pm CDT on the 30th, resulting in major/near record flooding (2nd highest crest on record). Disastrous flooding occurred from near Fidler's Bend to near Hanging Rock, with many permanent campgrounds and cabins overtopped, and roads inundated. Monetary damage estimates were not available. The river remained in flood through the end of April, then fell below flood stage at 3:15 pm CDT on May 1st.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindChewey-Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees along Chewey Drive by the Chewey Store.
July 2013Flash FloodChewey-Highway 28 was closed west of Adair due to flooding. One vehicle was washed off the roadway by flood waters.
May 2011Tornado (EF1)Chewey-This is the first of two segments of this tornado. In Adair County, this tornado uprooted large trees and snapped large tree limbs. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 95 mph. The tornado continued into Delaware County.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindChewey-Six to eight inch diameter tree limbs were broken by strong thunderstorm winds.
March 2008Flash FloodChewey-Heavy rain caused water to flow over a road near Chewey.
March 2008HailChewey-no account filed
April 1995Thunderstorm WindChewey-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Adair 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
Chance6.7 miles18
Ballard9.5 miles19
Proctor9.5 miles18
Going Snake9.9 miles17
Strawberry Spring10.0 miles17
Watts10.5 miles19
Christie10.8 miles17
Green11.5 miles17

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 CheweyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2060663The 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 1100289. 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.