Enid

History

Prior to the Land Run of 1893, the land where present-day Enid, Oklahoma sits was part of O County in the Cherokee Outlet, and was occupied by the Cherokee people following the Treaty of New Echota and the Cherokee trail of tears. Historically, the area was a hunting ground for the Wichita, Osage, and Kiowa tribes. The Chisholm Trail, stage coach lines, mail routes, and railroads passed through stations in the town which was then known as Skeleton. During the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, Enid was the location of a land office which is now preserved in its Humphrey Heritage Village, part of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center. Enid, the rail station, now North Enid, Oklahoma, was the original town site endorsed by the government. The Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War ensued when the Department of the Interior moved the government site south of the station prior to the land run, which was then called South Enid. During the run, due to the Rock Island's refusal to stop, people leaped from the trains to stake their claim in the government-endorsed site. By the afternoon of the run, Enid's population was estimated at 12,000 people, located in the Enid's town plat. Enid's original plat in 1893 was 6 blocks wide by 11 blocks long, with the town square on the northwest end, West Hill (Jefferson) school on the southwest end, Government Springs Park in the middle southern section, and East Hill (Garfield) school on the far northeast corner. A year later, the population was estimated at 4,410, growing to 10,087 in 1907, the year of Oklahoma statehood. The town's early history was captured in Cherokee Strip: A Tale of an Oklahoma Boyhood by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marquis James, who recounts his boyhood in Enid. He writes of the early…

Geography

Located in Northwestern Oklahoma, Enid sits at the eastern edge of the Great Plains. It is located north of Oklahoma City. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.12%) is water. Enid's weather conditions are characterized by hot summers, cold, often snowy winters, and thunderstorms in the spring, which can produce tornadoes. The greatest one-day precipitation total by an official rain gauge in Oklahoma was in Enid when fell on October 11, 1973. Temperatures can fall below in the winter, and reach above in the summer. The highest recorded temperature was in 1936. The lowest recorded temperature was , in 1905. The warmest month is July. January is the coolest month. The maximum average precipitation occurs in June. An ice storm struck Northwest Oklahoma in late January 2002. The storm caused over $100 million of damage, initially leaving some 255,000 residences and businesses without power. A week later, 39,000 Oklahoma residents were still without power. Enid, with its population of 47,000, was entirely without electricity for days. The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives reported over 31,000 electrical poles were destroyed across the state. The American Red Cross set up a shelter at Northern Oklahoma College. Some other notable storms in Enid's history include: *March 16, 1965: an F4 tornado away from the city center injured seven people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages. *October 11–13, 1973: Oklahoma's greatest urban rainfall on record occurred. Known as the "Enid flood", an intense thunderstorm was centered over Enid with rainfall accumulations between 15 and 20 inches within a area. About fell in three hours. Enid received , forcing residents to cut holes in…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,307
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,215
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,137
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,110
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,100
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  846
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  750
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  739

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2026-09-14
  6 km E of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.56 — 2026-06-13
  6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
• M 2.72 — 2026-06-03
  7 km S of Perry, Oklahoma
• M 2.9 — 2026-05-22
  10 km N of Stillwater, Oklahoma
• M 3.05 — 2026-04-21
  17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
• M 2.61 — 2026-03-23
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma