Washita County, Oklahoma
county in Oklahoma, United States
Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,924. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891.
History
In 1883, John Miles leased 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of Cheyenne and Arapaho land to seven cattlemen. However, arguments soon developed between the cattlemen and the tribesmen. In 1885, the Federal government terminated all of the leases and ordered the cattlemen to remove their stock.
The area was settled in 1886, when John Seger established a colony along Cobb Creek. Seger convinced 120 Cheyenne and Arapaho to settle near the old ranch headquarters at Cobb Creek.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Washita County, Oklahoma” as county in Oklahoma, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Oklahoma, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q495958. VIAF identifies the subject as 141890493. The Library of Congress control number is n80051011. Authority coordinates are 35.290, -98.990. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1891, 1883 and 1885.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Washita County, Oklahoma”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Washita County, Oklahoma primary sources, Washita County, Oklahoma archive and Washita research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Washita County, Oklahoma”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Washita County, Oklahoma” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.