Sentinel

History

Located in southwestern Washita County, Sentinel lies at the intersection of State Highways 44 and 55. The town is primarily an agriculture-based community. The 1892 Cheyenne and Arapaho Opening brought non-Indians into the region. In 1898, R. B. Gore, a pioneer of Old Greer County, established a small general merchandise store in the area and applied for a post office. On March 6, 1899, the Post Office Department approved the application and designated the locale as Sentinel, Oklahoma Territory. The name originated from Cloud Chief's Herald-Sentinel newspaper. This store was approximately one mile east of the present town. In 1901, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, later bought by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, began purchasing rights-of-way and designating new townsites for a proposed railroad. The newly formed Orient Townsite Company chose the site of present Sentinel and received a donation of eighty acres from L. N. Whitmer. They named the new town "Barton" and filed a plat on September 23, 1901. The new residents asked Gore to relocate his store and post office to the new location. This caused confusion, as the town and post office had different names. In 1904, Will Hornbeck established the Sentinel News-Boy. Determined to correct the name problem, he started a petition to incorporate the town as Sentinel. In 1906, the voters approved this measure in an election. In August 1907, the town officially became Sentinel. At the 1907 statehood, it had 351 residents. By 1908, the Orient had built their tracks through the village. In 1910 the population stood at 857, climbing to 1,269 by 1930. In 1911 residents supported two banks, a newspaper, electricity and telephone service, four grocers, two hotels, four general stores, among many other…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Sentinel is located in western Oklahoma's Washita County at the intersection of Highway 44 and Highway 55.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  56
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

  Tyrannus forficatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  25
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  24
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  24
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23

Most recent

• M 2.76 — 2022-11-10
  1 km ESE of Medicine Park, Oklahoma
• M 2.83 — 2020-08-21
  6 km WSW of Apache, Oklahoma
• M 2.87 — 2019-07-06
  12 km WNW of Leedey, Oklahoma
• M 2.8 — 2018-11-22
  9 km NE of Thomas, Oklahoma
• M 2.9 — 2018-11-16
  15 km W of Union City, Oklahoma
• M 2.8 — 2018-09-08
  16 km W of Union City, Oklahoma