Purcell

History

Purcell was at the north end of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, owned by the AT&SF. Today, Amtrak serves the town with the Heartland Flyer at the station near the old AT&SF depot. Purcell was the only town on the border of the Unassigned Lands, and began attracting hopeful settlers even before the Land Rush of 1889. Town lots went on sale April 5, 1887, and a post office was established 16 days later. The Purcell Register, the town's oldest newspaper, was established in 1887, and continued operating into the 21st Century. Residents elected the town's first mayor, James Taylor Bradley, on August 13, 1895. The town was incorporated on October 3, 1898. Located on the Canadian River, it was called the "Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation." In 1895, one of the five district courts of the Chickasaw Nation was located in Purcell, with the first session opening November 18, 1895. The court house escaped destruction the next day, when a fire destroyed most of the buildings in the business district. Construction of the Oklahoma Central Railroad ("OCR"), which would connect the Lehigh coal mines with Chickasha, reached Purcell in March 1907. The OCR located its main yards, barns and most of its equipment in Purcell. Although the OCR went bankrupt in the following year, its assets were acquired by the AT&SF.

Geography

Purcell is within the Great Plains region, located at (35.017465, -97.369537). It is east of the center of McClain County and is bordered to the east by the Canadian River, which forms the border with Cleveland County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.40%, are water. Purcell is located along the I-35 Corridor in the central part of the state, on a bluff overlooking the Canadian River valley within the Interior Plains region. It is south of Norman and south of Oklahoma City. The view from atop Purcell's Red Hill offers a scenic glimpse at both the South Canadian River and the University of Oklahoma campus in neighboring Norman. The central core of Purcell is located at the intersection of US-77 and OK-74/OK-39. Access to I-35 is at the north and south ends of the town. Prior to the construction of I-35, this route of US-77 was the heavily traveled road from Oklahoma City to Dallas.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,149
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  942
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  678
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  628
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  537
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  537
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  533
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  521

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2026-09-14
  6 km E of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 3.29 — 2026-09-04
  2 km SSW of Dibble, Oklahoma
• M 2.56 — 2026-06-13
  6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
• M 3.5 — 2026-05-19
  2 km ESE of Johnson, Oklahoma
• M 2.72 — 2026-05-15
  4 km SE of Ratliff City, Oklahoma
• M 2.61 — 2026-03-23
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma