Johnston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,957. Its county seat is Tishomingo. It was established at statehood on November 16, 1907, and named for Douglas H. Johnston, a governor of the Chickasaw Nation.
Johnston County is part of the Texoma Region.
| Name: | Johnston County |
|---|---|
| FIPS code: | 40-069 |
| State: | Oklahoma |
| Founded: | 1907 |
| Named for: | Douglas H.Johnston |
| Seat: | Tishomingo |
| Largest city: | Tishomingo |
| Total Area: | 658 sq mi (1,700 km²) |
| Land Area: | 643 sq mi (1,670 km²) |
| Total Population: | 10,957 |
| Population Density: | 17/sq mi (7/km²) |
| Time zone: | UTC−6 (Central) |
| Summer Time Zone (DST): | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Website: | www.johnstoncountyok.org |
Johnston County location map. Where is Johnston County?
History
In 1820, the U.S. government granted the land now known as Johnston County to the Choctaw tribe. Many of the Choctaws began moving to the new land in Indian Territory in 1830. The rest followed Chickasaw tribe, who were closely related to the Choctaw, formally separated from the Choctaw Nation in the late 1830s, relocating to the western part of the Choctaw Nation. The Chickasaw Nation named the town of Tishomingo as its capital and built a brick capitol building there in 1856.
Several educational institutions were established in the Chickasaw Nation before the Civil War. The Pleasant Grove Mission School and the Chickasaw Academy were founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844. The Presbyterians, in partnership with the Chickasaw Nation, opened the Wapanucka Female Manual Labour School in 1852.
The Chickasaw government joined the Confederate States of America after the outbreak of the Civil War. The Union army ordered its troops to evacuate Fort Washita, Fort Cobb and Fort Arbuckle. When Confederate troops occupied the area, they used the stone building at Wapanucka as a hospital and a prison.
Several railroads built tracks through this area about the turn of the 20th century. In 1900–1901 the St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway, which the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad (Frisco) purchased in June 1901, laid tracks north–south through the area. In 1902, the Western Oklahoma Railroad, which became the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad (CO&G), built a line southwest to northeast through the present county. In 1908 – 1910 the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (MO&G), (acquired by the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway in 1919,) laid a north–south line in the far eastern portion of Johnston County. In 1911, the MO&G built a spur west to Bromide, an early-twentieth-century health resort, capitalizing on the vicinity’s natural springs. Now the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, which acquired the Frisco in 1980, is the only railroad left in the county.
Johnston County Road Map
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 658 square miles (1,700 km), of which 643 square miles (1,670 km) is land and 15 square miles (39 km) (2.3%) is water.
The northern part of the county lies in the Arbuckle Mountains, which consists of rock outcroppings and rolling hills. The southern part of the county is part of the Coastal Plains region, and is more suitable for farming. The county is drained by the Washita and Blue Rivers and Pennington Creek, which are all tributaries of the Red River. An arm of Lake Texoma protrudes into southern Johnston County.
Major highways
- U.S. Highway 377
- State Highway 1
- State Highway 7
- State Highway 12
- State Highway 22
- State Highway 48
- State Highway 78
Adjacent counties
- Pontotoc County (north)
- Coal County (northeast)
- Atoka County (east)
- Bryan County (southeast)
- Marshall County (south)
- Carter County (west)
- Murray County (northwest)
National protected area
- Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Johnston County Topographic Map
Johnston County Satellite Map
Johnston County Outline Map
