BlockBefore

Forgan, Oklahoma

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the North Beaver census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73938. The Survey maps it on the Forgan quadrangle. 450 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,592 feet above sea level.

Forgan within Beaver County

Population over time

2 figures

Forgan fell from 547 to 450 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
2010547
2020450-97 (-18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

1 photograph, 1939

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.

Part of main street. Forgan, Oklahoma, agricultural ghost town
Part of main street. Forgan, Oklahoma, agricultural ghost town
Lee, Russell, 1939. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

1 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Forgan in 2020, burning about 486 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
29 February 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined486 acresOklahoma Division of ForestryBEAVER ROAD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Beaver County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Forgan: 6 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, 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 Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Caliche PitLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Unknown Caliche PitLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Unknown Caliche PitLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Unknown Caliche PitLimestone, GeneralPast Producer

Every working recorded in Beaver County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Forgan in 65 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 45 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 3 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
August 2011Thunderstorm WindForgan$1,500,000The Beaver County Emergency Managers Office reported that a total of five hog farms were damaged by the strong thunderstorm wind gusts. Two of the hog farms were significantly damaged with the roofs blown off along with damage to the sides of the buildings. Another hog farm was missing part of the roof while the other two hog farms had lesser damage to their roofs. All five of the hog farms are still standing but there was a lot of debris laying around. There was also a report that numerous trees were blown over by the strong thunderstorm wind gusts. The debris from the hog farms and the tree damage were located on Oklahoma State Highway 23 on the west and east sides of the highway. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindForgan$152,000An official National Weather Service storm survey revealed that thunderstorm wind gusts or a microburst overturned three irrigation pivots and snapped a power pole. The damage was reported to be in a one and a half mile swath between U.S. Highway 64 and Hollow East 0080 Road near U.S. Highway 270. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindForgan$15,000The high winds tore the roof off of a barn and also knocked down a radio tower.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindForgan$12,000The Beaver County Emergency Managers Office reported that numerous power poles were blown down in and around Forgan Oklahoma. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities.
May 2025Funnel CloudForgan-Multiple pictures were received of a well developed funnel cloud that made it roughly 75 percent to the ground. This funnel cloud lasted around 30 seconds to one minute.
July 2023Flash FloodForgan-Highway 23 north and south of beaver became impassable late Saturday night due to heavy rainfall leading to water flowing over the road.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindForgan-Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated to be 70 to 80 mph. Tree limbs were blown downed in Forgan. Hail up to the size of dimes also reported.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindForgan-Trees were reported down in Forgan from high winds. Winds were estimated to be around 80 mph plus.
October 2021Thunderstorm WindForgan-Sheeting from a metal roof was lifted halfway off of the |Forgan City Hall. Time was estimated based on radar.
May 2020HailForgan-One inch hail was reported along State Highway 23 northeast of Forgan.
May 2019Tornado (EFU)Forgan-Based on radar, pictures, reports, and videos, the best estimate was a touchdown around 733 PM CDT and crossed over the OK/KS state line around 735 pm. It then continued for at least another 5 minutes into rural southern KS. No damage was reported as the tornado remained in rough, open country.
August 2019Flash FloodForgan-Flooding was reported with water covering roadways in Forgan.
May 2017HailForgan-Late report. Found one very large hail stone measured at 3.5 inches.
May 2017HailForgan-Late report. Mostly quarter size hail with a few as large as ping pong ball size.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindForgan-Barn destroyed and an outbuilding overturned. Four power poles knocked over. Six inch diameter tree limb peeled off. Windows broken in cars and home.
June 2014HailForgan-The southern end of a line of thunderstorms moving across the Central Plains entered northern Beaver County around 11:30 PM CST. This line moved east-southeast across the county, and approached the town of Forgan (Beaver County). When the line reached Forgan (Beaver County), the Beaver County Emergency Manager reported ping pong ball size hail (1.50 inches) in town. The line continued to move to the east-southeast across the county after producing this hail, but no additional reports of severe weather were relayed.
May 2014HailForgan-A discrete supercell developed over the eastern Oklahoma Panhandle during the afternoon hours of the 11th. This storm strengthened as it moved northeastward along a dryline. As the storm approached the town of Mocane (Beaver County), the County Emergency Manager reported half dollar size hail (1.25 inches) 6 miles east of Mocane. This storm continued to move to the northeast after producing this hail.
May 2013Tornado (EF0)Forgan-A landspout tornado formed during the afternoon hours of the 28th near the town of Beaver (Beaver County). Eye-witness accounts stated the landspout developed north of the Beaver Sand Dunes State Park east of State Road 23. A National Weather Service survey team located the start of the track approximately 4 miles north of Beaver (Beaver County). Eye-witness reported that the landspout traveled to the northwest, crossed State Road 23, and traveled west of State Road 23 before dissipating approximately 5 miles north-northwest of Beaver (Beaver County). The survey team verified the eye-witness accounts and noted that little damage was evident since the landspout formed over undeveloped grassland. The estimated max wind speed with this tornado was 60 mph. No injuries or fatalities were associated with this landspout.
May 2013HailForgan-A discrete supercell thunderstorm developed along a retreating dryline during the evening hours of the 28th. As the storm moved to the northwest it began producing hail across the northern portion of Beaver County. The Beaver County Emergency Manager reported ping pong ball size hail north of the city of Forgan (Beaver County). The supercell continued moving to the northwest before weakening slightly as it moved into southern Kansas.
June 2013HailForgan-A discrete thunderstorm developed along a slow moving cold front over southern Kansas. As the thunderstorm moved to the south-southeast into the Oklahoma Panhandle the thunderstorm began to weaken. As the thunderstorm moved over the city of Forgan (Beaver County), a trained storm spotter reported quarter (1.00 inch) size hail. No reports of damage were relayed with this report.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindForgan-A cluster of thunderstorms moved over eastern Beaver County during the late night hours of the 28th. As the cluster moved towards western Oklahoma, a member of the public reported a 70 mph downburst 9 miles west of Knowles. The downburst hit his vehicle which caused him to briefly lose control over the vehicle on the wet roadway. By 11:30 PM CST, the cluster of thunderstorms moved into western Oklahoma which brought the potential for severe weather across Beaver County to an end.
May 2010Flash FloodForgan-The Beaver County Oklahoma Emergency Manager reported fast flowing water two feet deep in the town of Forgan. Twelve to sixteen inches of water was reported flowing over U.S. Highway 64 near Forgan and also across Oklahoma State Highway 23 and U.S. Highway 270. Numerous county roads and some highways were closed due to the flash flooding. A few roads in the town of Forgan eroded slightly due to the excess water.
June 2009HailForgan-The Beaver County Emergency Manager reported golf ball size hail covering the streets in Forgan.
June 2005Tornado (F0)Forgan-Tornado verified by photographs and touched down over open country. No damage or injuries occurred and the path length and path width were estimated.
June 2004Flash FloodForgan-Water was reported over U.S. Highway 64.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindForgan-Five to six inch diameter tree limbs were reported down by the high winds.
June 2025HailForgan-no account filed
June 2018HailForgan-no account filed
May 2018HailForgan-no account filed
May 2018HailForgan-no account filed
May 2018HailForgan-no account filed
May 2017HailForgan-no account filed
May 2017HailForgan-no account filed
August 2011HailForgan-no account filed
August 2011HailForgan-no account filed
June 2011HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2009HailForgan-no account filed
June 2007HailForgan-no account filed
May 2007HailForgan-no account filed
June 2007HailForgan-no account filed
April 2005HailForgan-no account filed
June 2005HailForgan-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindForgan-no account filed
June 2003HailForgan-no account filed
May 2002HailForgan-no account filed
May 2002HailForgan-no account filed
June 2002HailForgan-no account filed
June 2002HailForgan-no account filed
July 2002HailForgan-no account filed
August 2002HailForgan-no account filed
March 2001HailForgan-no account filed
May 2001HailForgan-no account filed
September 2001HailForgan-no account filed
September 2001HailForgan-no account filed
September 2001HailForgan-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Beaver 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
Beaver6.4 miles7
Mocane8.9 miles7
Floris9.5 miles7
Turpin18.1 miles7
Little Ponderosa18.2 miles7
Knowles18.5 miles7
Elmwood20.1 miles7
Balko20.6 miles7

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 ForganAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q302039The 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 1092944. 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.