Newcastle

History

Newcastle became a dot on the map with the opening of a new post office March 26, 1894 and a population of 25. The area had previously been served by the nearby William P. Leeper Post Office, opened in 1888, but closed in 1892 after Leeper was shot in a range fencing dispute. The mail office was established on the Minco-to-Norman road in Section 11, Township 9 North, Range 4 West. Eulalie V. Kelley was the first postmaster. In 1905, postmaster Alonzo Haun moved the facility to his general store in Section 14, Township 9 North, Range 4 West. Newcastle lay in the Chickasaw Nation. The community's first residents included Choctaw, Chickasaw, and individuals who had married into those tribes. Many were involved in ranching. By 1907, the community had a subscription school, a cotton gin, two stores, and two blacksmiths. Changes spurred Newcastle's growth throughout the 1920s. In 1920 the town's post office was relocated one mile east on land donated for a public school and a church. In 1922, work started on a South Canadian River bridge. The steel thru-truss bridge with timber flooring was Oklahoma's first federal aid project and a part of the Ozark Trail that was to link Oklahoma City to Amarillo, Texas. Although the trail was never fully completed, the bridge stayed. It opened on April 23, 1923, and cost $321,393.38 to build. The bridge attracted businesses and allowed for the construction of Highway 62 through Newcastle in 1927. Until the mid-twenties, there was a major river ford at May Avenue that was used whenever the water wasn't too deep. Farmers from Newcastle forged the river with their horses and wagons and traveled up May Avenue on their way to the Oklahoma City Farmer's Market by Western and Reno. Today, only a single section of the old Newcastle Bridge…

Geography

Newcastle is in the northwestern corner of McClain County, bordered to the north by Oklahoma City in Cleveland County and to the west by Tuttle in Grady County. It is bordered to the south by Blanchard and Cole, to the southeast by Goldsby, and to the east by Norman, also in Cleveland County. The rapidly growing area of northern McClain and Grady counties around Newcastle is known as the "Tri-City Area" with Tuttle and Blanchard. Newcastle is the largest incorporated community in McClain County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.88%) is water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• NEWCASTLE ES
  Elementary · Newcastle · 761 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• NEWCASTLE HS
  High · Newcastle · 760 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• BLANCHARD HS
  High · Blanchard · 724 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• NEWCASTLE MS
  Middle · Newcastle · 591 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• BLANCHARD ES
  Elementary · Blanchard · 558 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• BLANCHARD INTERMEDIATE ES
  Elementary · Blanchard · 481 students · 20:1 ratio
• BLANCHARD MS
  Middle · Blanchard · 477 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• NEWCASTLE EARLY CHILDHOOD CTR
  Elementary · Newcastle · 466 students · 16.6:1 ratio