BlockBefore

Murphy, Oklahoma

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Locust Grove census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74352. The Survey maps it on the Locust Grove quadrangle. 140 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 597 feet above sea level.

Murphy within Mayes County

Population over time

3 figures

Murphy fell from 231 to 140 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
2000231
2010219-12 (-5%)
2020140-79 (-36%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 16 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

143 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 143 fires within 5 miles of Murphy between 1992 and 2020, burning about 7,605 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 69 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/incendiarism69
Missing data/not specified/undetermined35
Debris and open burning16
Recreation and ceremony9
Smoking6
Natural5
Equipment and vehicle use2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
6 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
5 September 2002Recreation and ceremony2.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
10 September 2002Smoking3.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
6 August 2001Debris and open burning14 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named
4 August 2012Arson/incendiarismunder an acreOklahoma Division of Forestry30347
4 August 2012Arson/incendiarism1.5 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry30348
26 August 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined70 acresOklahoma Division of Forestry30586
24 August 2000Railroad operations and maintenance7.0 acresOklahoma Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mayes County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Murphy: 4 past producers. 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 Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Mayes County

Storms near this place

12 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Murphy in 12 storm reports between 2004 and 2025: 7 tornado, 4 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 2025Tornado (EF1)Murphy$75,000This is the first segment of a two segment tornado. The tornado developed near the intersection of the E640 Road and the N440 Road. It moved east-northeast destroying a large barn, uprooting numerous trees, and snapping numerous tree limbs, crossing into Cherokee County near the E635 Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMurphy$50,000Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed a large barn, blew down a tree, snapped numerous large tree limbs.
May 2011Tornado (EF1)Murphy$35,000A tornado damaged metal buildings, uprooted several metal fence posts, snapped a large hardwood tree, snapped numerous large tree limbs, and destroyed a storage shed. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 90 mph.
May 2004Tornado (F1)Murphy$25,000This tornado was produced by the storm that produced tornadoes in Creek and Wagoner Counties. The tornado occurred in southern Mayes County between Murphy and Locust Grove. This tornado damaged and uprooted trees along its path. Damage to inhabited buildings was mainly to shingles and broken windows. Structural damage was mainly contained to outbuildings,
June 2018HailMurphy$15,000no account filed
June 2014HailMurphy$10,000no account filed
January 2020Tornado (EFU)Murphy-Storm chasers positioned in two different locations observed a brief tornado. The area where the tornado occurred was inaccessible by road, thus there was no known damage.
May 2017Tornado (EF0)Murphy-This is the second segment of a two segment tornado. In Mayes County, this tornado snapped large tree limbs and then dissipated north of Ear Bob Road. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 80 to 85 mph.
May 2017Tornado (EF1)Murphy-This is the second segment of a two segment tornado. In Mayes County, this tornado uprooted trees and snapped large tree limbs. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in this segment of the tornado was 90 to 100 mph.
May 2013Tornado (EF1)Murphy-This tornado snapped a couple trees and uprooted several others. Based on this damage, maximum estimated wind in the tornado was 95 to 105 mph.
January 2008HailMurphy-no account filed
March 2006HailMurphy-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Mayes 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
Pin Oak Acres1.9 miles18
Cedar Crest2.5 miles15
Ballou2.9 miles16
Paradise View3.1 miles18
Locust Grove5.5 miles16
Iron Post5.5 miles16
Chouteau5.9 miles18
Sportsmen Acres6.8 miles18

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 MurphyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2185628The 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 1100655. 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.