Eldon, 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 74464. It stands on Eldon Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Proctor quadrangle. 347 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 794 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresEldon fell from 368 to 347 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 368 | |
| 2020 | 347 | -21 (-6%) |
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 Proctor quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Fort Smith quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1978 USGS Stilwell quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
366 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 366 fires within 5 miles of Eldon between 1992 and 2020, burning about 8,418 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 133 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 | 133 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 91 |
| Debris and open burning | 80 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 25 |
| Natural | 15 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Other causes | 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 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 5 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 5 September 1998 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 4 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 30467 |
| 4 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 30465 |
| 4 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 30468 |
| 3 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 255 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 22 September 2000 | Smoking | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Eldon: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charley Ryals Chert Pit | Silica | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Shale Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
23 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Eldon in 23 storm reports between 1999 and 2026: 9 thunderstorm wind, 7 flood, 4 tornado, 3 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2011 | Flood | Eldon | $50,000 | The Baron Fork River near Eldon rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at 5:45 pm CDT on April 25th. The river crested at 28.51 feet at 10:30 pm CDT on the 25th, resulting in record flooding. Cabins at Camp Egan were flooded and significant areas of the campground were also under water. The river fell below flood stage at 5:45 am CDT on the 26th. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Eldon | $20,000 | This tornado developed east of Highway 10, near Scraper, and moved east. It snapped and uprooted numerous trees and destroyed an outbuilding west of the Illinois River. It crossed the Illinois River near the E 732 Road, continuing to snap and uproot trees until it dissipated north of the E 728 Road and west of the N 593 Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 100 to 105 mph. |
| May 2008 | Hail | Eldon | $20,000 | no account filed |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a privacy fence and damaged some small structures. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | $1,000 | Several large trees had their tops twisted out. |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | $500 | Trees were blown down. |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | $100 | Thunderstorm winds blew down large tree limbs. |
| April 2026 | Tornado (EF0) | Eldon | - | This is the first segment of a three-segment tornado. The tornado developed south of Highway 51, southeast of Eldon, where numerous large tree limbs were snapped. It moved northeast into Adair County, south of the 754 Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 80 to 85 mph. |
| November 2018 | Tornado (EF1) | Eldon | - | This is the fourth segment of a six segment tornado. In this short segment of the tornado in Cherokee County, the tornado uprooted trees, and then moved back into Adair County south-southwest of Proctor. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 90 to 100 mph. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | - | Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs northeast of Eldon. |
| April 2017 | Flood | Eldon | - | The Baron Fork River near Eldon rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at 1:45 am CDT on April 30th. The river crested at 25.10 feet at 4:30 am CDT on the 30th, resulting in major flooding. Campgrounds and cabins were severely flooded. Monetary damage estimates were not available. The river fell below flood stage at 10:15 am CDT on the 30th. |
| April 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down large trees. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Eldon | - | The Baron Fork River near Eldon rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at 6:15 am CST on December 27th. The river crested at 25.44 feet at 9:30 pm CST on the 27th, resulting in major flooding. Campgrounds and cabins were severely flooded. The river fell below flood stage at 9:45 am on the 28th. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Eldon | - | Portions of Highway 62 northeast of Eldon were closed due to flooding. |
| December 2015 | Flood | Eldon | - | Portions of Highway 62 east of Highway 51 were closed due to flooding. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | - | Several large trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm wind in the Pumkin Hollow area. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees. |
| April 2012 | Tornado (EF0) | Eldon | - | This is the third segment of this tornado. The tornado moved back into Cherokee County after crossing Highway 51. During this segment, the tornado snapped large tree limbs. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 75 mph. The tornado continued into Adair County, Oklahoma. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Eldon | - | The Baron Fork River near Eldon rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at 9:45 pm CDT on April 24th. The river crested at 24.35 feet at 4:30 am CDT on the 25th, resulting in moderate flooding. The river fell below flood stage at 11:30 am CDT on the 25th. |
| October 2009 | Flood | Eldon | - | The Baron Fork River near Eldon rose above its flood stage of 18 feet at 6:45 a.m. CDT on October 9th. The river crested at 21.77 feet at 10:00 a.m. CDT on the 9th, resulting in moderate flooding. The river fell below flood stage at 6:30 p.m. CDT on the 9th. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Eldon | - | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down large tree limbs. |
| October 2018 | Hail | Eldon | - | no account filed |
| September 1999 | Hail | Eldon | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Briggs | 1.8 miles | 18 | |
| Welling | 4.7 miles | 19 | |
| New Spring Place (historical) | 5.0 miles | 18 | |
| Tailholt | 6.3 miles | 18 | |
| Tahlequah | 6.9 miles | 19 | |
| Etta | 7.5 miles | 18 | |
| Tsa La Gi Indian Village | 7.6 miles | 18 | |
| Indian Meadows | 7.7 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 Eldon | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2603744 | 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 1100385. 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.








