Cimarron

History

Cimarron was first settled in 1878. It took its name from a fork in the Santa Fe Trail which led travelers to the Cimarron River. Between 1887 and 1893, a county seat war took place in Gray County that involved several notable Old West figures, such as Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, and Ben Daniels. As a result of the dispute, Cimarron became the permanent county seat of Gray County. In the wee hours of June 10, 1893, Bill Doolin and four members of his gang robbed a train one-half mile east of Cimarron. In 2016, the Amtrak Southwest Chief was involved in a collision near Cimarron. The train, en route to Chicago from Los Angeles, derailed on a section of track that was damaged by a runaway truck. 28 people were injured in the derailment, which caused over $1.4 million in damage. The tracks were knocked out of alignment the morning before the derailment when a fully loaded truck from Cimarron Crossing Feeders, an adjacent business, ran out of control down a hill leading to the tracks. The truck was removed, but the incident was not reported to local authorities or BNSF, the owner of the tracks.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cimarron has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  247
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  193
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  161
• Horned Lark

  Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  153
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  145
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  136
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  114
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  109

Most recent

• M 2.67 — 2025-11-15
  13 km WNW of Knowles, Oklahoma
• M 2.8 — 2018-10-30
  16 km WSW of Bucklin, Kansas