OKLAHOMA: Forgotten, Fading Rural Towns - Far Off The Interstate

all right everyone I am in rural Oklahoma here let me show you where on the map here uh you can see I'm right here in the middle kind of to the north a little bit to the West in the state of Oklahoma you see Oklahoma City to the South Tulsa to the east uh Kansas City up what North East Dallas down south I'm going to try to explore 10 different towns today so I'm gonna kind of zip through them quickly I want to show you all 10 if I can so I'll go through the downtowns and then show you a neighborhood or two real quickly and then I will tell you the stats of the city all right I am making my way into downtown wacomas right now now first off I will tell you that all of these cities I would say describe them as fading they're not ghost towns or dying but their best days are behind them their Peak populations are behind them but uh you know they're still here and there are still people living here so with that uh wakomas latest census has 1 349 people Peak population was in 1980 they're 1551 the poverty rate is 13.6 percent a little higher than the national average the average age here is 40.4 little bit higher than the US the median household income is 61 400. and the average home value is 101 101 500. well yeah you can see uh downtown here is it's definitely definitely not what it used to be I'll get that word spit out uh I find this interesting Opera House it says 1900 I'm guessing that's when it was built it's a really interesting looking building they got a church right here on Main Street uh that building is quite beautiful kind of missed it going in because it's in the shade hopefully you can see it well yeah that's that's beautiful I'm out on foot real quick want to take a look at this Pioneer Memorial dedicated to the Pioneers who settled wacomas got a little nice area here that is fake grass by the way that's why it looks so green because you can see some snow right here in the shade I got some nice little things here this is probably some kind of water fountain in warmer times and uh interesting statue here and of course they've got this really cool mural let me see if I can get close so you can see it yeah it says land run there if you know anything about Oklahoma uh you know about the Oklahoma Land Run where everybody was on the border and when the time came they just ran into the state of Oklahoma into the state of Oklahoma let me say it right and uh they could grab Parcels of land it's a pretty nice little town isn't it uh I'm gonna head to the next one now it's called Hennessy all right I am entering the town of Hennessy no it's not named after the French cognac it is named after an Irish gentleman who was one of the city's founding fathers uh the city has 2155 people in it Peak population was in 1980 when there were 2 287 people so it hasn't lost a lot of population just a little bit poverty rate 16.7 so that's a little higher than the national average age is 36.6 median household income is 73 400. so a little bit lower than the US average which is 78 000. and the average home is worth a hundred and ninety two thousand dollars so that's less than half the U.S average which is 428 000. all right so I'm going to uh well I thought I was going to go into a neighborhood not one here so I guess I'll go to the other side of Main Street now there's downtown uh train just went by looks like all right so let's uh see what the neighborhoods or a neighborhood in Hennessey looks like doesn't look bad I like these houses right here and we'll go down this street get a look at them yeah got some nice houses here I'll roll my window down so you can see it better pretty sweet I like that house there too it needs a little TLC but I like it wow look at this house here uh yeah it's in really bad shape you can see the uh roof there falling in I don't know what this what I think of that it's huge columns looks like it's empty kind of a fascinating looking place though wow lots of trees good sized yards well-kept homes that's a nice little town well okay gonna head to the next town like I said I'm gonna keep it moving quickly I've got 10 Towns to show you so I'm gonna head on to the next one now it's called okeene all right I have arrived in okeene Oklahoma the numbers for this town aren't quite as robust off the poverty rate is 27.5 percent that is really high that is well over twice higher than the national average um average household income is 53 900. average age is 35.1 and the average home here is worth 96 400. that is a lot lower than the U.S average which is 400 428 000 man's less than a quarter a quarter of the value uh there's a couple things to see here though so yeah basically driven through downtown already the main landmark in this town is this church right here uh St Anthony of Padua it's a Catholic Church built in 1924 it is on the national register and you can see it from a long ways away I was two miles out of town I could see these copper Towers it's a beauty of course I am in flat Oklahoma so you can see for miles and miles and that is something isn't it I'm gonna drive by this church again and give you a second look uh they are re-roofing it right now that is some building though especially for a small town of under 2 000 people yeah I drove over here earlier yeah they have a tank there oh no that's not the tank it's uh it's a big gun pretty cool there's a cat anyway let me uh show you this over here oh roads are a little rough well okay and one street off Main I think we've seen enough here I'm gonna head to the next town it is called Canton all right I'm approaching Canton Oklahoma [Music] population in 2020 was 468. Pig population was 1950 there were 959 people here so it's lost close to half its population from its peak time average age is 41.3 the average household income is 56 500. and the average home value here is ninety thousand dollars ninety thousand four hundred to be exact and the poverty rate I'm not sure about this number but it's according to the U.S census and they've got it at five percent uh that's really low I don't know how it could be that low I mean I don't know how it can possibly be that low ah well below the national average anyway I'll take a look around here uh see what I can find interesting sights here I'm gonna head up this way go into a neighborhood see what's going on I double checked that poverty number U.S census at 4.53 that just doesn't seem possible uh you can tell at least in the part of town that I'm in right now it's not a wealthy town hmm we'll take a look at a couple neighborhoods here not sure why that number would be so low really doesn't make sense does it yeah look here uh Native American Baptist so Native American Baptist Church I guess that's really interesting well I'm gonna take a look around see what else is here it's a crazy number 4.53 percent hmm uh I'm gonna go this way directly into a neighborhood uh see what's here only a few streets in this town it's got I mean it's a town of what less than 500 so not a whole lot in the way of homes the streets hmm oh wow check out this bridge one lane bridge well I have to drive across it that's just all there is to it this is cool wow did you look at the side whoa that was a little nerve-wracking oh well this is cool though all right one of the highlights of this town hahaha okay um well I don't know where this bridge has taken me hmm well I'm going to uh wrap it up here I'm thinking I'm gonna head to the next town it's called Fairview so that's uh that'll be next all right I'm approaching the town of Fairview uh population 2740 Peak population was in 1980 there were 3 370 people here then poverty rate is 18.4 that seems a bit normal for this area compared to that last town average age is 38.2 that's like a downtown looks like they have a theater here always good to see royal anyway the average household income is 66 100. and the average home here is worth one hundred and six thousand three hundred dollars so there's all that got an impressive structure here major County Courthouse Christine you want to drive around here see some neighborhoods over here on this side of town I'm behind the tractor right now though holding up traffic downtown's about three blocks that way I'm just gonna give you a little look oh we got some traffic here we got a cat not even remotely worried about my my vehicle well you know that's that's the attitude of cats well I think I've seen enough here I'm going to head to the next town it is called Cleo Springs but first I want to see this yard and this really robust collection of stuff cool all right uh Cleo Springs is coming up next all right I have arrived in Clio Springs according to the map this is the way in the downtown yep I guess this is it uh Cleo Springs population is 287. Peak population was in 1980. there were 514 people then poverty rate is 20.2 average age here is 35.8 foreign average household income is 56 700 and the average home value is eighty thousand six hundred is very quiet here uh it's I didn't tell you what day it was it's um today is Thursday right now it's about what it's 12 30. so it's a little after lunch anyway let me turn around get another look here yeah safe to say this downtown is um not a meeting place uh that looks like post office there only sign of life down here uh Cleo Tavern but I don't think it's open it used to be a bar well all right uh I want to take a look around a little bit yeah it's a little bit Eerie how quiet it is here used to be a gas station there it looks like and car wash no more Cleo State Bank well uh there we go there's a resident finally anyway uh yeah I'm gonna head to the next town it's called Uh Carmen all right everybody I'm driving into Carmen Oklahoma that's cool old water tower isn't it uh Carmen has 360 people living here Peak population was 1930 there were 904 people then so it's lost about two-thirds of its population since its peak year poverty rate is 20.9 average age here is 40.2 so this is a little bit older town average household income is 57 800. and the average value of a home here is fifty seven thousand eight hundred that is really really low I'm gonna drive into a neighborhood right now fifty seven thousand when you think that the average home in the United States is worth four hundred and twenty eight thousand that's an eighth an eighth of the value of a home in the U.S wow I'm gonna have to drive a street or two and see what these homes look like they look pretty okay though I guess way out here in the boonies Oklahoma they're just not worth as much so uh yeah if you want to retire to a quiet place this might be the place for you I mean you know if you got a house that's worth 700 000 now and it's paid for you could cash it out buy one here and have a ton of dough left over cost of living here is most likely so low that you could last a long time on half a million um that being said I don't know if they're any stores there's definitely not a grocery store there's not even a Dollar General here what there's always a Dollar General I don't think there's a Dollar General here anyway uh I'm gonna anyway yeah I'm like drive around here a little bit see some stuff all right well I'm just cruising around some of the streets here I mean what does a town where the average home is fifty seven thousand dollars what's it look like that looks empty and uh nature is reclaiming it it's a nice house there I'm not sure if anybody lives in these hmm they all say no trust at passing with big signs well okay I think I've seen everything here I'm gonna head to the next town it is called Cherokee very Indian name there isn't it all right heading there next all right everyone I am driving into Cherokee let's see uh population right now in Cherokee is one thousand 478. Peak population was in 1950 there were 2 635 people here then so it's almost half of its peak population is gone poverty rate is 21.1 percent average age is 41.7 average household income is 58 900. and the average home is worth 187 thousand dollars a little over 187 thousand so there's all that I'm going to uh check out some neighborhoods all right I'm just uh going to drive through and give you some of the sights it's an agricultural town some of these buildings are so awesome let's see what's over here it's massive isn't it yeah I'm not really going to say much just showing you the sights of the town you got a bar here Cherokee Corner Bar yeah it's really on the corner too it's a good name for it cool old building here I think it used to be a hotel right here this four-story building uh looks like it's not open now or anymore was a pretty Grand Hotel back in its day I'm guessing foreign let's see what's up here I got a tractor trying to run me down uh you can see a lot of evidence of the fairly substantial population loss that the city has had happen few empty houses here and there like another one there I head this way okay well I've seen enough here I'm going to head to the next town it is called jet yep jet j-e-t just like it sounds all right I am driving into jet small town population 197. Peak population was in 1940 there were 442 people here then so it's lost over half its population now this is an odd number the poverty rate is 2.7 that's the lowest I've ever seen I can't really wrap my brain around that except to think that everybody here works and they make enough money to stay above the poverty line there's no other explanation for it average household income is 66 600. so income's pretty good for a rural town like this and uh well the average home value is seventy one thousand five hundred so that's pretty low anyway uh see what they got here I'm seeing uh something here U.S Air Force look at all this here and then I got this this jet interesting I guess we'll turn in here and see what's going on maybe take a look at a neighborhood or two well that was a jet that makes sense it's in the town of Jet doesn't it I always love to see some big trees oh we got a branch hanging down into the road here I guess there's nobody to cut that down Yoder Gasco Co-op how cool huh and back out on downtown look at this Jet City Hall there it is wow yeah you gotta love this stuff come over here well impressive structures well okay I'm thinking I'm gonna head to the next town and it will be the last town still taking a look here though do you see these cats boy this trailer's in pretty bad shape looks like a tornado hit it yeah see I'm already on the other side of town basically driven with uh you guys from one side to the other it ends over here anyway uh yeah I'm gonna head to the next town then uh it is called tree and that will be the last town uh that will be in the video all right I am uh approaching gold tree gold tree Oklahoma I think I just go over these railroad tracks and I'll be there video destination all right according to Siri I'm about there oh Australian Siri giving me my directions a small town gold tree has 251 people in it Peak population was in 1930 there were 346 people here so it really hasn't lost that much it's just always been a real small town I wanted to see it though um let's see poverty rate 5.1 percent again super low I mean it just has to be that every person who lives here works and makes enough money to be above the poverty line there's no other way to explain it average household income is eighty thousand three hundred that's a lot that might have something to do with it and uh the average home value though is ninety five thousand still pretty low but that's most likely because this is a small town pretty much in the middle of nowhere there are no major roads that come through here and this is really way off the beaten path uh This Town anyway I'm driving down this Main Street because I see this it's pretty impressive looking Church straight up ahead and go take a look at it what do you guys think yeah that's pretty much the end of the town then we're out into the plains and the big win fans but uh they do have an impressive looking church here it's quite beautiful St Michael's Saint Michael's Church let me give you a good look at that that is beautiful hmm I like that now you can see pretty much the hotel here I'll uh yeah I'll go take a drive down a street or two well I'm back in downtown here one maybe two streets of residential very small so uh you know what I'll drive down it got another church here that's two churches in this town of what was it uh under 200 people yeah 251 people an old house there I wonder what it's like to live here hmm well that's it guys I'm gonna call it a day with uh this town the last town next video we will be heading out into West Texas and I'm going to tour some towns that are virtual ghost towns I mean there's hardly anybody left I've been wanting to see these towns for a long time finally going to get to do it so be looking for that video it will be next

Channel: Joe & Nic's Road Trip

Views: 358,985

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Id: fL9n8vAT7YU

Length: 35min 33sec (2133 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 22 2022