BlockBefore

Elgin, Oklahoma

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Northeast Comanche census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73538. The Survey maps it on the Elgin quadrangle. 3,656 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,293 feet above sea level.

Elgin within Comanche County

On record in Elgin

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Elgin grew from 2,156 to 3,656 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
20102,156
20203,656+1,500 (+70%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 14 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.

Photographs

3 photographs, 2020

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Silhouetted tree on Oklahoma's southern plains, near the city of Elgin
Silhouetted tree on Oklahoma's southern plains, near the city of Elgin
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
The contrasting colors between prairie grasses and an adjacent soybean field in late fall near Elgin, Oklahoma
The contrasting colors between prairie grasses and an adjacent soybean field in late fall near Elgin, Oklahoma
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
The contrasting colors between prairie grasses and an adjacent soybean field in late fall near Elgin, Oklahoma
The contrasting colors between prairie grasses and an adjacent soybean field in late fall near Elgin, Oklahoma
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

33 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 33 fires within 5 miles of Elgin between 2001 and 2020, burning about 1,872 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 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/incendiarism9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Debris and open burning7
Equipment and vehicle use6
Fireworks1
Other causes1
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
4 September 2009Debris and open burning33 acresAnadarko AgencyRALPHS RSORT
27 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use3.5 acresAnadarko AgencyGREAT WHITE
22 September 2007Debris and open burning8.0 acresAnadarko AgencyROCK ISLAND
31 August 2012Equipment and vehicle use2.9 acresAnadarko AgencyPOOR FARM RD.
20 August 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined43 acresAnadarko AgencyBIRDWELL
17 August 2015Debris and open burning300 acresAnadarko AgencyWATTS MILE FIRE
15 August 2009Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresAnadarko AgencyBONNIFIELD
4 July 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAnadarko AgencyNINE MILE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Comanche County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Elgin: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gypsum-Anhydrite. 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
Fletcher Quarry & PlantGypsum-AnhydriteProducer
Richards Spur QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Comanche County

Storms near this place

60 of 82 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elgin in 82 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 52 hail, 21 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2023HailElgin$20,000Numerous social media images of golf ball to tennis ball size hail. Damage to vehicles also noted. Time is radar estimated.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindElgin$20,000no account filed
April 2016Tornado (EF1)Elgin$10,000A tornado developed just northwest of Elgin. It initially moved north, then turned east-northeast dissipating just before reaching Fletcher. Mobile homes were damaged along the path as well as trees, power lines, and outbuildings.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindElgin$5,000Damage to roof of a post office. Estimated 65 to 70 mph wind gust. Power lines also downed.
July 1994HailElgin$5,000no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindElgin$5,000no account filed
October 1999Thunderstorm WindElgin$100no account filed
October 1997Thunderstorm WindElgin$10Strong winds blew 8-10 inch diameter limbs from trees.
April 2024HailElgin-MPing report.
May 2024HailElgin-MPing report.
May 2024HailElgin-MPing report.
August 2023HailElgin-MPing report.
August 2023HailElgin-MPing report.
May 2023HailElgin-MPing report.
June 2021FloodElgin-Portion of a road washed away on a street north of 1st street.
June 2021HailElgin-Time radar estimated.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindElgin-Measured with handheld anemometer. Also, various small limbs and shingles scattered throughout the neighborhood.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Estimated severe wind gust.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Estimated severe wind gust.
May 2020HailElgin-Location estimated from radar.
May 2020Flash FloodElgin-Flood waters completely covering a portion of Spencer and Cline roads northeast of Lawton. Delayed report. Time/location estimated.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Estimated gust reported by spotter.
December 2018Flash FloodElgin-Westbound Highway 277 was covered in water.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindElgin-No damage reported.
February 2016HailElgin-No damage reported.
February 2016HailElgin-No damage reported.
April 2015HailElgin-No damage reports.
April 2013Thunderstorm WindElgin-No damage was reported.
April 2013HailElgin-No damage was reported.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindElgin-In Elgin and Fletcher areas, one mobile home was destroyed and at least 30 other structures were damaged. Monetary damage estimates were not available.
May 2009Flash FloodElgin-Numerous county roads were flooded due to several rounds of heavy rainfall.
May 2005HailElgin-Hail was reported at the intersection of Highway 62 and Highway 277.
December 1999HailElgin-Hail was reported on Interstate 44.
May 1999Tornado (F0)Elgin-Tornado A2. See summary at end of May 3rd storm reports.
July 1997Flash FloodElgin-U.S. Highway 277 was closed due to high water.
July 1997Flash FloodElgin-Up to 2.5 feet of water covered U.S. Highway 277.
October 1997Flash FloodElgin-Several county roads and bridges in northeastern Comanche County were washed out by flash flood waters.
May 2024HailElgin-no account filed
June 2023HailElgin-no account filed
July 2021Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
June 2021HailElgin-no account filed
June 2021HailElgin-no account filed
July 2021Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
May 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
May 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
April 2020HailElgin-no account filed
April 2020HailElgin-no account filed
April 2020HailElgin-no account filed
April 2020HailElgin-no account filed
May 2019HailElgin-no account filed
October 2019HailElgin-no account filed
May 2018Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
May 2018HailElgin-no account filed
June 2018HailElgin-no account filed
April 2017HailElgin-no account filed
April 2017HailElgin-no account filed
February 2016HailElgin-no account filed
June 2013HailElgin-no account filed
May 2013HailElgin-no account filed
April 2013HailElgin-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Comanche County

Newspapers printed here

1,268 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 268 issues, 1,268 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
Farmers' Champion1912 to 1922

What the paper printed

3,938 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 5 issues spread across its run from 1912 to 1921, 3,938 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1912-11-14Farmers' Champion1,058 words
1912-11-28Farmers' Champion1,340 words
1912-12-19Farmers' Champion438 words
1921-06-08Farmers' Champion894 words
1921-12-28Farmers' Champion208 words

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
Fletcher3.9 miles13
Lake Ellsworth Addition4.2 miles14
Cove Acres4.2 miles14
Porter Hill5.0 miles11
Green Meadow Acres5.0 miles11
Lakeside Village5.1 miles11
Edgewater Park5.5 miles11
Mount View6.2 miles13

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 ElginAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q431761The 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 1092522. 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.